Synthesized answer
The passages explain that internal withdrawal, as described in Matthew 6:6, facilitates "abstraction from everything" and "recollection within himself" by enabling a person to become "disengaged and removed from everything else, and completely recollected within himself" [1]. This state involves "the renunciation of all things, of both body and mind" and worship "stripped of all images" [1]. By closing the door of the senses and entering the inner heart, the individual excludes and wipes out "everything, in general and individually," allowing the mind alone to turn securely to God [2].
This recollection is further described as returning "quietly into the inner secret place of the mind" where, "withdrawn from everything else and completely recollected within ourselves," one can place oneself "in the knowledge of the truth" [4]. The process leads to a state where the mind is "free from attachment to any carnal passion" and "clings firmly in intention to that one supreme good" [5]. Ultimately, this internal withdrawal transforms the mind into a "spiritual or angelic likeness," making it possible to remain in contemplation "as easy and clear... as to live in the natural state"…
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
te a voluntary and counselled perfection by means of which one may arrive more quickly to the supreme goal which is God. The observation of these additional commitments excludes as well the things that hinder the working and fervour of love, and without which one can come to God, and these include the renunciation of all things, of both body and mind, exactly as one’s vow of profession entails. Since indeed the Lord God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth, in other words, by knowledge and love, that is, understanding and desire, stripped of all images.…
s can be done best when a man is disengaged and removed from everything else, and completely recollected within himself. There, in the presence of Jesus Christ, with everything, in general and individually, excluded and wiped out, the mind alone turns in security confidently to the Lord its God with its desire. In this way it pours itself forth into him in full sincerity with its whole heart and the yearning of its love, in the most inward part of all its faculties, and is plunged, enlarged, set on fire and dissolved into him.
← Chapter 12 On Cleaving to God by Albert the Great Chapter 13 Chapter 14 → 106290 On Cleaving to God — Chapter 13 Albert the Great The nature and value of prayer, and how the heart should be recollected within itself Besides this, since we are incapable of ourselves for this and for any other good action whatsoever, and since we can of ourselves offer nothing to the Lord God (from whom all good things come) which is not his already, with this one exception, as he has deigned to show us both by his own blessed mouth as well as by his example, that we should turn to him in all circumstances…
← Chapter 13 On Cleaving to God by Albert the Great Chapter 14 Chapter 15 → 106297 On Cleaving to God — Chapter 14 Albert the Great That we should seek the verdict of our conscience in every decision While we should strive for spiritual perfection of mind, purity and peace in God, it will be found to be not a little beneficial to this that we should return quietly into the inner secret place of the mind in the face of everything said, thought or done to us. There, withdrawn from everything else and completely recollected within ourselves, we can place ourselves in the knowledge of the truth…
piritual man, for whom the least separation from that summum bonum is to be considered a living death and dreadful loss. Then, when the requisite peace has been established in his mind, when it is free from attachment to any carnal passion, and clings firmly in intention to that one supreme good, the Apostle’s sayings are fulfilled, Pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and, Pray in every place lifting up pure hands without anger or dispute. (1 Timothy 2:8) For when the power of the mind is absorbed in this purity, so to speak, and is transformed from an earthly nature into the…
More questions about this book
- Albert the Great describes "cleaving freely, confidently, nakedly and firmly to God alone." How would you explain each of these adverbs, and what specific challenges or disciplines might be required to embody them in practice according to this text?
- The text presents two levels of commitment: observing commandments for salvation, and additional commitments for evangelical perfection in religious orders. How would you explain to someone unfamiliar with Christian theology the distinct purposes and practices of these two paths, and why one is described as leading "more quickly to the supreme goal"?
- What does it mean to worship God "stripped of all images," as described in the text? If you were explaining this concept to a modern audience, what concrete examples or metaphors could you use to illustrate how one might achieve this state of "knowledge and love, that is, understanding and desire," free from mental constructs?
- The text suggests that "abstraction from everything" leads to "cleaving to God" with "yearning of love." How does detaching from worldly things, including renunciation of "both body and mind," paradoxically deepen one's capacity for love and sincerity towards the divine, rather than leading to an emptying of emotion?