Gregory the Great could be called the Doctor of Desire, says Jean Leclerq. He says The importance given to desire confers on St. Gregory's doctrine an extremely dynamic quality. It is concerned with constant progress, for desire, as it becomes the more intense, is rewarded by a certain possession of God which increases it still more. The result of this desire is peace rediscovered in God, since desire is itself a possession in which fear and love are reconciled.
I find Leclerq's statement rather bland. I would like to put fire under it and proclaim, its all about desire! God cannot be possessed without it, nor fear vanquished, or struggle overcome. The phrase that we obtain a "certain possession of God", bothers me, because it makes God seem almost beyond our reach. And I'm not so sure fear and love can be reconciled. I'm more of the mind that love cast out fear; that fear can be overcome, that we can move beyond fear into a loving trust through a habitual response of trust. What we often lack is patience with ourselves, patience with the process, patience with the imperfections. It's as though we expect never to fail, and then berate ourselves because, what? we're human? God forbid!
God isn't unapproachable. He doesn't reign somewhere high above us, so that we must struggle to find even a "certain possession" of him. Time and time again scripture and scholars and mystics tell us: he is in the depths of our hearts. He waits patiently for us to find him there. And only desire can bring us.
I find Leclerq's statement rather bland. I would like to put fire under it and proclaim, its all about desire! God cannot be possessed without it, nor fear vanquished, or struggle overcome. The phrase that we obtain a "certain possession of God", bothers me, because it makes God seem almost beyond our reach. And I'm not so sure fear and love can be reconciled. I'm more of the mind that love cast out fear; that fear can be overcome, that we can move beyond fear into a loving trust through a habitual response of trust. What we often lack is patience with ourselves, patience with the process, patience with the imperfections. It's as though we expect never to fail, and then berate ourselves because, what? we're human? God forbid!
God isn't unapproachable. He doesn't reign somewhere high above us, so that we must struggle to find even a "certain possession" of him. Time and time again scripture and scholars and mystics tell us: he is in the depths of our hearts. He waits patiently for us to find him there. And only desire can bring us.
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