2024/12/16

174. The Three Johns

The San Damiano Crucifix depicts three distinctive men. They are John, the author of the Book of Revelation, holding the sealed scroll depicted at the top; John the Apostle, depicted with Jesus' mother to the right of the central crucifix; and a man depicted only from the neck up in a smaller size behind the centurion, on the left side of the crucifix. These three men are depicted with the distinctive form of their foreheads, which is not present in the other figures. 

The portrayal of John, the author of the Book of Revelation, holding the sealed scroll was to draw our attention to the Book of Revelation (cf. blog № 161). The portrayal of John the Apostle, depicted with the mother of Jesus, represents the priesthood and the priest (cf. blog № 166). Then, who is the third man behind the centurion, and what is his theme? 

First, the centurion depicted there represents the Roman Empire, which embraced Christianity. Christianity, which had taken root in the Roman Empire, preserved Rome from the destruction of the Western Roman Empire. Eight hundred years later, Francis was born in a place and time when it was commonplace to be a Christian. At the time, Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle, was gradually influencing the Catholic Church. 

On the other hand, Francis himself was less influenced by academia, emphasising simple living and an honest faith in the teachings of the Church. That was because Francis, who had received John's Gospel and the Book of Revelation from the San Damiano Crucifix, was guided by the Holy Spirit into all the truth. The San Damiano Crucifix had prophesied that Francis would be born and come to see it and was awaiting him. The third man is Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, or St Francis, who also had John in his real name. Behind him are what appear to be the heads of his followers. 

The depiction of the Gospel of John on the San Damiano Crucifix appears to show the moment when Jesus' Church, born with the conclusion of the New Covenant through Jesus' blood, which announced the coming of the Kingdom of God, has fulfilled its mission. The faithful who inherit Christ's work of salvation through their initiation into the faith take on the positions of priests and congregation in the completed Mass liturgy surrounding the Eucharist. Furthermore, they have three callings modelled on the Holy Family - Mary, Joseph and Jesus - which received the only begotten Son of God. 

The subject for Francis was first to reveal the vocations of the Church born near the Cross by embodying the "vocation of Jesus" so that the portrayal of John's Gospel depicted in the crucifix might be fulfilled. However, he accepted the diaconate following the recommendation of the Church because he loved the Church. Vocations of the Church are rooted in the Holy Family. Francis naturally focused on the stable of the Nativity. 

"Solemn Masses were celebrated over the manger, Francis, the Levite of Christ, chanting the Holy Gospel. Then he preached unto the folk standing round of the Birth of the King in poverty, calling Him, when he wished to name Him, the Child of Bethlehem, by reason of his tender love for Him." (The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi by St Bonaventure). 

To be Continued.

Maria K. M.

 

 2024/12/09

173. The Little Scroll

Before the San Damiano Crucifix, St Francis received the truths. One was to realise Jesus' words from the Gospel of John, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me" (Jn 14:6), and to read the Synoptic Gospels and other New Testament books from the perspective of John the Evangelist (cf. blog№ 169). The second was to store the worldview of Jesus Christ as his tacit knowledge in his memory by reading and listening to the Book of Revelation. After reading the Book of Revelation, Francis must have docilely practised what was written in it (cf. Rev 1:3). That helps him receive revelations directly from the New Testament. That is because the Book of Revelation is interwoven with the revelations and prophecies conveyed by the New Testament (see diagram below Prophetic Composition of the Book of Revelation). Therefore, Francis respected the priesthood and was erudite about the Scriptures, with his mind always on the Eucharist, the "life". In addition, the image of Jesus, the Eucharist, depicted in the Crucifix, and the people depicted separated to his right and left - the Church's vocation - must have been stuck in his mind (cf. blog № 166). 

The following is an example of reading the New Testament from the perspective of John the Evangelist. Picking up the words of Jesus on the cross just before he breathed his last breath from each Gospel and putting them in chronological order, a coherent narrative emerges. This narrative connects the scene of the institution of the Eucharist at Jesus' last table in the three Synoptic Gospels with what happened by the cross in the Gospel of John, which does not describe that scene, and testifies to the whereabouts of the Eucharist and priesthood, the coming of the Kingdom of God and the conclusion of the New Covenant, and the birth of Jesus' Church. 

At the time of his end on the cross, Jesus was waiting for the Father to draw the parties to the new covenant, for no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. He cried out in supplication. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34). This cry has become the prayer: "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!" (Lk 23:46). 

Finally, the people drawn by the Father gathered by the cross. They were the mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Clopas, Mary of Magdala, and John the Apostle. At this time, Jesus united the Apostle with his mother, Mary, who had received his priesthood with Jesus, the Son of God (cf. blog № 167), in a parent-son bond. That was a guarantee that the Apostles were united with the priesthood in an unbreakable bond to fulfil the words of the previous evening when Jesus had commanded them to "Do this in remembrance of me" (Lk 22:19). The Apostle received the priesthood as it says: "And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home" (Jn 19:27). 

This fact is in line with what is written in the Book of Revelation: "But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time" (Rev 12:14). The "woman" refers to the priesthood. The "Eagle" refers to the Gospel of John. The "wilderness" is the memory of the Apostles, bound in an unbreakable bond to the mother of Jesus. Thus, the priesthood, hidden in the memory of the Apostles, was to escape the "human information" ("the serpent") and be nourished until a suitable time. 

"After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished" (Jn 19:28), received the vinegar, saying, "I thirst". That means that Jesus, who had said, "I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes" (Lk 22:18), announced that the "kingdom of God" has come. He then said, "It is finished" (Jn 19:30) and "yielded up his spirit" (Mt 27:50; Mk 15:37; Lk 23:46; Jn 19:30). The blood and water that then flowed from Jesus' side fell on those whom the Father had drawn, testifying to the conclusion of the "new covenant in my blood" (Lk 22:20) and at the same time giving birth to Jesus' "Church" (cf. Jn 19:34-35). 

Thus, the truths of the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation, which Francis received from the San Damiano Crucifix, manifest that the Word is alive in the New Testament. He received from the hand of the Lamb the little scroll depicted at the upper end of the Crucifix and ate it, just as John, the author of Revelation, did (cf. Rev 10:10). 

To be continued.

Maria K. M.

 2024/12/02

172. The Wind

In the last issue, we discussed the will of man based on Admonitions by St Francis. In the light of the Genesis account, God gave man a will to create him after his likeness. Man's will was to be formed by a combination of the "divine spontaneity" appropriate for man, which is the "breath of life" God had breathed into him, and the "knowledge of God" that God made grow as the "tree of life", and it was to become the free will of man, created after God's likeness. That is because the "divine spontaneity", the "breath of life", is the source of "freedom". However, man did not eat from the Tree of Life but ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, forbidden to eat, and thus he generated his will by combining the "divine spontaneity" with the "man's knowledge". The "man's knowledge" evolves through "human information", which can be good or evil depending on the recipient. For this reason, man's will is bound by the knowledge of good and evil and cannot exercise the freedom of "divine spontaneity". That is why the free will God wanted to manifest in man to create him after his likeness does not manifest itself in man. 

Jesus Christ is God becoming human with perfect free will manifesting itself in the unity of "divine spontaneity" and "divine knowledge". The coming of Jesus testified that people could manifest the free will God had wanted them to have to those who, under the old covenant, lived manifesting their will by combining the "knowledge of man" with the "divine spontaneity" appropriate for man. However, many people who manifest their will by connecting the "divine spontaneity", even though befitting to man, with "human knowledge", which is disproportionate to it, and people who, therefore, live with a contradiction that sometimes brings them face to face with death, resisted Jesus' advice and eventually hated and even tried to kill him. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, fulfilled God's plan in his constraints for his disciples and the Holy Spirit, who would later descend. 

Jesus, who said, "I know whom I have chosen" (John 13:18), prepared everything necessary for his disciples to work with the Holy Spirit after his descent. That is because it is only by collaborating with the Holy Spirit that one can obtain free will. Jesus first continued to insert the Word into the disciples' knowledge through their senses so that it would remain in their memory. The reason for this was so that they would remember it when contacted by the Holy Spirit. The sensation of being touched by the Holy Spirit is the sensation of contact with "divine informationlessness", i.e. the Eucharist minus the information of bread and wine. In communion, the believer experiences the feeling of being touched by "divine informationlessness". 

When the Holy Spirit, who has no physical body, collaborates with the person, the appropriate knowledge can be brought directly into his brain so that the freedom of God-given spontaneity can be exercised in his "will". Hence, Jesus said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you" (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit informs us of the contradictions in us, from deep within us, and becomes an advocate for our own judgement against ourselves, which we fall into. 

Jesus trained his chosen disciples to distinguish between divine revelation and "human information" until they came to accept the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. The Book of Revelation replicates that training for future Christians. The training of reading the Book of Revelation aloud and listening to its voice not only enables believers to sensibly grasp the distinction between the work of the Holy Spirit and "human information". Revelation, in which the contents of the revelation and prophecies conveyed by the New Testament are interwoven, enables believers to take in the worldview of Jesus Christ, who appeared in this world, as an unconscious, tacit knowledge. That is because the worldview of Jesus Christ, the Divine, cannot be contained within the human consciousness alone (see diagram below). Revelation prepares believers to optimise themselves into the "divine reality" in which the Holy Spirit works in every scene they encounter with Him. 

St Francis' writings show that he had perused the Book of Revelation. However, many people fail to realise that within his words and deeds are the truths of the Gospel of John and Revelation he received from San Damiano Crucifix. That is because Francis became a man carried by God's hands. "The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:8). 

To be continued.

Maria K. M.

 2024/11/25

171. One's Own Will

"The Evil of Self-will", the second theme of Admonitions, attributed to St Francis of Assisi, is as follows.

"The Lord God said to Adam: 'Of every tree of paradise thou shalt eat. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat.' Adam therefore might eat of every tree of paradise and so long as he did not offend against obedience he did not sin. For one eats of the tree of knowledge of good who appropriates to himself his own will and prides himself upon the goods which the Lord publishes and works in him and thus, through the suggestion of the devil and transgression of the commandment, he finds the apple of the knowledge of evil; wherefore, it behooves that he suffer punishment."¹ 

To create man after His likeness, God gave him a will. He breathed into him the "breath of life" and caused the "tree of life" to grow in the middle of the Garden. That is what Francis wrote: "Adam therefore might eat of every tree of paradise and so long as he did not offend against obedience he did not sin." However, "information" had already been developed between two people, and they understood what God had commanded falsely. They understood that they "shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden" (Genesis 3:3). Therefore, they did not eat from the "tree of life", then the "breath of life" and the "tree of life" were never united, resulting in them not being able to make the God-given will their own. Instead, by eating from the "tree of knowledge of good and evil", man's knowledge, which evolves through "human information", was linked to the "breath of life", and they obtained their "own will". That knowledge certainly belongs to the person, but the spontaneity belongs to God. 

On the other hand, the Holy Spirit is constantly working on the believer to collaborate. Among believers touched by His power, there will be someone who "prides himself upon the goods which the Lord publishes and works in him". That is because he "appropriates to himself his own will". The fruit of such a person, even if a believer, becomes "the apple of the knowledge of evil". Thus, he is to receive punishment. But God, the Saviour of all, has nothing to do with sin or punishment. Social ethics, rules, etc., namely, man's knowledge, punish him. 

God guarantees the freedom of man's "own will", having created him after His likeness. But that does not mean that God bestowed man with free will. God bestowed man with the "divine spontaneity" appropriate to him. It was the "breath of life" (Genesis 2:7). By having it breathed into him by God, and by this spontaneity being united with the "tree of life", man comes to live in the likeness of God. Freedom originates in divine spontaneity. The "will" is a kind of compound, so to speak, of God-given spontaneity and knowledge. So, for the freedom of God-given spontaneity to be exhibited in one's "will", it must be united with the knowledge suitable for it. It can be no other than divine revelation. 

Francis knew that the knowledge of man is good and evil because he saw that the "human information" expressed between people can be good or evil, depending on the recipient. Even if this "human information" is tied to God-given spontaneity, it is still bound to good and evil and never generates free will. Divine revelation is divine knowledge, the Word of Jesus Christ and the truth. That is why Jesus said: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:31-32). 

The Holy Spirit, the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13), who guides the faithful to all the truth so that they may abide in the words of Jesus, is always with them. Therefore, we can say that the very moment the believer works with the Holy Spirit, his free will is exhibited. Distinguishing between divine revelation and "human information", i.e. between the work of the Holy Spirit and "human information", which Francis practised, as we saw in the previous discussion, is a prerequisite for this. For this purpose, the Book of Revelation is in the New Testament. 

To be continued.

Maria K. M. 

1. St Francis of Assisi, Admonitions, "The Evil of Self-will",  https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/assisi-the-writings-of-saint-francis-of-assisi.

 

 2024/11/18

170. Optimisation

Previously, we discussed "The Body of the Lord", the first theme of Admonitions, attributed to St Francis of Assisi. And we found that he had a particular understanding of the Father's love and the Eucharist from John's Gospel. On the other hand, in the second theme of the same Admonitions, "The Evil of Self-will", he turns his attention to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis. That shows that the Book of Revelation strongly influenced him. 

The Book of Revelation has a peculiar structure unparalleled in previous apocalyptic literature, clearly declaring from its very beginning that it is "the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Revelation 1:1). It is a book of revelation and prophecy (see diagram below), but also a book of daily training for believers. Its method of training is to create a loop structure of a computer program, so to speak, within the faithful who repeatedly reads aloud the words of the prophecy, hears the voice and keeps in his memory what is written in it, as indicated in Revelation 1:3 (cf. blog №151). This structure supports the daily routine of the faithful from the end of the Mass liturgy with the final blessing and dismissal until the next Mass. 

The primary purpose of the Book of Revelation as a training book is for believers in this daily routine first to develop the habit of sensing the "human information" depicted in it, distinguishing it from the work of the Holy Spirit, and retaining it in their memory. Thus, in the Book of Revelation, words for "human information" such as dragon, serpent, devil, Satan and deceiver of all humankind appear repeatedly. As a faithful repeatedly reads aloud and listens to the Book of Revelation, the image of these words eventually recedes, and the "human information" becomes directly perceptible. This perception strongly supports the desire of the faithful who, even living the daily routine in the Mass liturgy, are amidst the "human information" in this world. That is the keen desire to optimise themselves to the "divine reality" in which the Holy Spirit works and to collaborate with the Holy Spirit in all situations they encounter. The Book of Revelation functions as a simulator for this. 

Based on the above understanding, when we look back at Genesis 3 with the word "ancient serpent" (Revelation 12:9, 20:2) in the Book of Revelation as a hint, we can see that a suitable level of information had already been developed among creatures of the same species, the wisest of which was the information developed among humans (cf. Genesis 3:1, 3:14). The highly developed "human information", which outstrips that of other creatures, was the result of God's bestowing a will on man to create him after his likeness. The whole Bible always appeals to the fact that God, the Father, guarantees the freedom of "his own will"¹ of man whom he created after his likeness. When we read Genesis 3 from this viewpoint, we will find in it the Father dealing with the mistakes of his children. At the same time, we will see the overlap between the image of God in that scene and that of Jesus Christ fulfilling the will of the Father.

1. St Francis of Assisi, Admonitions, "The Evil of Self-will",  https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/assisi-the-writings-of-saint-francis-of-assisi.

 

That is the moment when the faithful realise that the image of the Father who "drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24) and that of Jesus Christ stating, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6), were one. They will then turn their attentions to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, intending to work on the memory of having eaten from it, which remains in people, to bring this good news to the world. 

No specific concept of "information" was in Francis' time. In the writings of Francis, we see a Francis who, in that era, somehow manages to face "human information" with the revelation he had been given. That testifies that he had already developed the habit of distinguishing between the work of the Holy Spirit and "human information". Indeed, this is shown by the fact that even when substituting the words "devils" and "Satan", which he quotes in "The Evil of Self-will" and elsewhere in his writings, for "human information", the meaning still holds. On the other hand, he tried to understand various issues according to the teachings of the Church at the time. 

To be continued

Maria K. M.

 2024/11/11

169. The Tacit Knowledge

During the time of St. Francis, the Church became increasingly interested in the Eucharist, and a new form of religious life was taking place. It must have been timely if, at such a time, the Holy Spirit led Francis to realise the truths of John's Gospel and the Book of Revelation from San Damiano Crucifix. But those who receive divine revelation are only flesh and blood travelling through the world, even when working with the Holy Spirit. Hence, they do not communicate more than what they saw, as John, the author of the Book of Revelation, wrote: "[John] bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw" (Revelation 1:2). With this in mind, I would like to examine what he realised, according to the sources directly related to Francis as a clue to it. 

The fact that "The Body of the Lord"¹, the first theme of Admonitions attributed to Francis, begins with the words of the Gospel of John is noteworthy. After writing, "the Lord Jesus says to his disciples", Francis quoted Jesus' words, from the phrase "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me" (John 14:6), through the exchange between Jesus and Philip, to the phrase "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (14:9). From them he leads to a conclusion: "Yet neither is the Son, in as much as he is equal to the Father, seen by any one other than by the Father, other than by the Holy Spirit". 

That was to give an admonishment as follows. "Wherefore, all those who saw the Lord Jesus according to humanity and did not see and believe according to the spirit and the divinity that he is the true Son of God, were condemned. So also now all those who behold the sacrament which is sanctified by the words of the Lord upon the altar at the hand of the priest in the form of bread and wine, and do not see and believe according to the spirit and divinity that it is truly the most holy body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, are condemned". He had actually seen many people living like those already condemned. 

On the other hand, he was in a state where he could say, "Behold: daily he humbles himself as when from heaven's royal throne he came down into the womb of the Virgin. Daily he himself comes to us with like humility; daily he descends from the bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest. And as he appeared to the Apostles in true flesh, so now also he shows himself to us in the sacred bread". Then he encourages, "And as they by their bodily sight saw only his flesh, yet contemplating him with the eyes of the spirit believed him to be very God, so we also, as we see our bodily eyes the bread and wine, are to see and firmly believe that it is his most holy body and blood living and true". Francis must have taken these words seriously himself. However, I suppose, these words were difficult to practice for him who had the conclusion that "neither is the Son, in as much as he is equal to the Father, seen by any one other than by the Father, other than by the Holy Spirit". 

Jesus said to the multitude, "And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen; and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he has sent" (John 5:37-38). 

The words "the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me" were fulfilled when Jesus said to Peter: "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17). These words were in reply to Peter's words to Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (16:16). These were the words that "my Father who is in heaven" had revealed. Peter himself, who uttered these words, and the other disciples who heard them, had the Father's words abiding in them. They believed that the Father had sent him (cf. John 17:8). 

The words "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God", which the Father in heaven had revealed, stay in those who hear them. So, when the faithful attending the Mass liturgy proclaims with the priest aloud these words, which the heavenly Father revealed to Peter, towards the Eucharist shown by him and take and eat the Eucharist handed by the priest, they can answer Francis' encouragement: "[We] are to see and firmly believe that it is his most holy body and blood living and true ". 

Moreover, the words revealed by the heavenly Father form the tacit knowledge in the memory of those faithful who proclaim the words aloud and hear them. It is the rock of which Jesus said to Peter: "I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18). 

To be continued.

Maria K. M.

1. Saint Francis of Assisi, First Admonition "The Body of the Lord"              https://www.vatican.va/spirit/documents/spirit_20010612_francesco-assisi_en.html

 2024/11/04

168. Feeling of Incongruity

Christianity, which had taken root in the Roman Empire, protected Rome from the destruction of the Western Roman Empire. Meanwhile, St Francis appeared in a history that took almost 800 years to prepare. His story is still signalling for us 800 years further down the line. 

At his last table, Jesus told the Apostles the parable of a woman giving birth to a child, referring to the joy of a human coming into the world. He continued: "I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you" (John 16:22), foretelling his resurrection as well as the birth of the Eucharist. Jesus then assured them, saying: "In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (16:23-24). The Church has responded to these words of Jesus by praying "so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ", asking for what is the best in this world. 

In the Gospel of John, Mary was never called "mother" by Jesus so that she might become the priesthood itself (cf. John 2:4, 19:26). Bound to "the mother of Jesus" by Jesus' words on the cross in a parent-child bond, the Apostle was bound to the priesthood. The Gospel reads, "And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home" (19:27). Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene were also there. San Damiano Crucifix depicts this very scene. St Francis realised something from this. Having received the diaconate, he was on the line towards priesthood, as seen from the fact that he called himself "clerical"¹. However, he never became a priest.

1. cf. Francis of Assisi, The Testament. 

Francis may have had a sense of incongruity, which eventually burdened him as a contradiction, as he was ordained a deacon for love for the Church. In his life with this burden, we see the presence of the "vocation of Jesus". The fact that many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him speaks for itself (cf. John 6:66). At the same time, his life also reflects that of Christ approaching the Passion, described in the following passage: "This was to fulfil the word which he had spoken, 'Of those whom thou gavest me I lost not one.'" (18:9). The Father's hand prunes the vine branch, which is fully connected to Jesus Christ, so that "it may bear more fruit" (15:2). That hand was upon Francis, and he continued to respond by surrendering himself to that hand and living a life of thorough poverty. 

In my opinion, the hand of the Father on Francis was a love that nullified the sacrament of Deaconate he received for his love for the Church and restored to him the "vocation of Jesus" that the Father had bestowed on him from the beginning. He had, after all, received the "vocation of Jesus" in front of San Damiano Crucifix. 

To be continued.

Maria K. M.