The Golden Chain of Contemplation

               This text is a collection of connected ideas put into a semi-poetic form. They are the result of  my own personal reflections and contemplations.  They are interconnected and represent a central idea that is examined in several different ways. I put them down in ten different representations, some which reflect more the unified concept behind this collection or chain of thoughts than others.  Because it demonstrates many different ways I have examined this one thought, it will be obvious that in each of the sub-contemplations below, that there are repetitions found within this text. It represents the kind of thought which enters the mind while in contemplation, and how one returns to the same ideas over and over again.
        I consider this to be a work of poetry, not so much as it reflects a style that can be easily identified as poetry, but rather because the ecstatic spirit which inspires poetry. This is a contemplative meditation about the world,  and contemplation is often found to be an inspiration for poetic works. So this is poetry, but only if one uses a rather free and loose definition of the word. It contains free verse which, it must be noted, is intended to imitate a style of writing found within Buddhist thought.  One example of such thought, of which I was actively considering when I wrote this, is found in the writings of the philosopher Nagarjuna. He wrote in a form of writing which I thought was most suitable to a philosophically minded contemplation and examination of reality, and although I am merely imitating an imitation of his work (that is, from a work of his which was found in translation), I nonetheless hope that my own writing is not without some merit. 

Dedicatory Verses

I bow my head to the Almighty Trinity,
The source, beginning, and end of creation,
And to the Most Holy Mother of God,
The Ever-Virgin Mary, through whom God became man.

Bless this work, St. Romanos the Melodist,
So that by your intercession my thoughts are guided,
And you, St. Ephrem, guide me in my words,
So that the Trinity can be worthily glorified.

I. Contemplation on the Trinity

Goodness, Truth and Beauty,
All Three are united as One.
Each of them will not be found,
Without the other two joining in its presence.

For whatever is true,
Must also be good.
When the mind sees something good,
It will appear beautiful to the intellect.

For whatever is good,
How can it ever be false?
When the mind sees this is so,
It will appear beautiful to the intellect.

Beauty attracts our attention:
It shows us something good.
When we see something good,
Then we have something that is true.

Three that are One,
Oh Trinity, that is my contemplation:
Where there is one,
The other two must be!

You reveal Yourself,
In all the universal triads,
As can be found in my own person,
Since I am mind, soul and body.

Even though words will always fail,
When trying to describe Your essence,
You have provided us images,
So that we should strive to Your glory.

You are beyond all that exists,
Oh Blessed Trinity.
For all that exists finds itself,
Within You as its cause.

If existence is said to exist,
And all that exists is made by You,
Then even existence gains itself,
From You as its cause.

If You are greater than existence,
As You are its cause,
Then You are Nothing,
For things are what exist.

If You are Nothing,
Then in describing Your Nothingness,
Our words will never reach,
Your supra-essential glory.

All that we can ever say,
All that we can ever do,
Will never let us perceive You truly,
And yet You bid us to try.

For our contemplation,
Which goes up to You in unknowing,
We are able to see what You are not,
And then we see what remains.

When You show us what remains,
We know that we have not obtained,
All that You are,
O Blessed Trinity!

We use images when discussing You,
For we use words.
It is our only way to tell others,
It is what we have.

We always need to be reminded,
That no matter how high we ascend,
It is through transcending where we are,
That we will gain the Beatific Vision.

It is here we shall find You,
And finally see You as You are,
When all have been made One
With You, the One from on high.

Until we reach that sublime vision,
Of You, O Lord,
Words we will use,
As the guides that they are.

II. Contemplation on Sophia

Sophia, Universal Wisdom of God,
Sophia, the Cosmos at unity with itself,
Sophia, to you I lift up my mind,
Sophia, it is your Wisdom that I love.

Searching with my intellect,
I seek to understand all that is.
It is in my unknowing,
That I know I will be led.

Looking at the Cosmos,
I see how fractured it has become.
How did it come to this,
Where has Wisdom fled?

Looking back in time,
I seek to find the cause
For why you left us, O Wisdom,
And to know why the Cosmos is splintered.

Division entered
That which was united.
In the aftermath,
Wisdom departed.

The Cosmos fought against itself,
That which was greater,
Faced a rebellion,
By that which was inferior.

What is the source,
What has created this destruction?
Ignorance is the cause,
And with ignorance found, Wisdom was lost.

What is the source of ignorance,
Whence this great evil?
Through self-deception,
The Cosmos lost itself.

For as God is beyond all that is,
God is Nothing and Everything,
Seeking God in Nothingness,
The Cosmos took on emptiness.

This emptiness that was taken,
Is not the Nothing which is God,
Rather it was a complete lack of being,
That the Cosmos made its own.

Why did the Cosmos flee to emptiness?
She wanted to be like God,
For in Nothingness there is God:
And she wanted to be a God of her own.

In seeking nothingness,
You were diverted to non-existence,
Oh Cosmos, you made your Wisdom flee,
And corruption took her place.

Wisdom, in your divine majesty,
You still remain pure and pristine.
It is in Wisdom's body, the Cosmos,
That Wisdom has been defiled.

You have been made pure in creation:
That which is not,
Has contaminated your being,
And has made you flee from yourself.

Oh my Wisdom, Sophia:
God has established the means
For you to be found once again:
For unity to once again reign supreme.

Wisdom, you are the beginning,
You are the goal, and through you
The final end, that is, God,
Will able to be reached.

God has shown you to be the mediator,
By His Incarnation He is joined with you.
Wisdom is restored,
Through God the Logos.

Today we must seek,
To reunite what has been divided.
What was lost, must be found:
The pursuit for Wisdom is the pursuit for unity.

To pursue unity is to seek,
That which is currently lost.
True speculation will seek to unite,
Truth upon truth, and make it one.

When speculation leads to understanding,
You will make yourself known.
When you are found, Holy Wisdom,
You will be a reflection of the divine.

III. Contemplation on Creation

All that exists comes from God,
Through God, all things are made.
Creation is united in being created,
Even as the Trinity is united as being Creator.

You chose to create, O God,
To reveal Yourself to Others.
Through this revelation,
You want all to share in Your life.

Since the Cosmos is large,
Beyond the comprehension of man,
Are we to believe it is created,
Full of life or of death?

If the Cosmos found to be empty,
Except for our small sphere,
It would be found to be a barren womb,
Unable to produce many children.

But if creation is meant to be,
The means for life to exist,
Then in a large Cosmos,
It will not empty but full of life.

What are we to think?
Are we the only intellectual animal?
If we look at the angels we know,
Other intellects exist.

The intellect we have must not be seen,
To be a unique gift to man alone.
If we can understand this,
Our answer has been made known.

Other intelligent life must exist!
For the size of the Cosmos,
And the character of the Creator,
Demonstrate this for us.

We are not alone.
We must seek our brothers,
And through Christ our Lord,
Be united with them.

The destiny of the Cosmos must be for those within,
To find each other and unite.
And with the unity of creation,
Wisdom will once again found.

Christ, as Creator and Creature,
Has opened the way,
For all to share in the Divine Life,
For all to be One with Him.

Through Man, as it was through Mary,
Christ entered the Cosmos.
As Mary has a special role in the world,
So mankind has a special role for the Cosmos.

If we understand our duty,
Then let the Church unite the Cosmos.
As the Church is the source of unity,
For every man and every beast.

The Saints have shown us,
That even beasts can enter communion with God.
Since the Saints have welcomed them,
Are we to tell them to depart?

Brother Wolf, welcome to the fold,
Brother Sun, share with us your worlds.
For together we shall praise the might
Of the glorious Trinity!

We are not alone,
We should know that by now.
And in the world to come,
We will find all our innumerable brothers.

In Christ, all men are made one,
And in man, the beasts join with Christ.
For as Christ is a mediator between God and man,
So man is a mediator for the beasts with God.

The deifying power of the Holy Trinity,
Seeks to unite all in all,
And one day the Trinity shall be Lord:
All in all.

IV. Contemplation on Life

All life is sacred.
As the Cosmos was created,
Out of divine Wisdom--
So it is good.

Life participates in God
More than what is without life.
All life seeks to find in God,
Its eternal end.

From plants to animals,
From animals to man,
All have their proper place,
Within the domain of creation.

As life is sacred,
We should not profane it.
This is our duty,
Which we should not neglect.

No life is without merit,
No life is without greatness.
For all life has as its root,
A divine spark which gives it being.

Although we may recognize,
A hierarchy of life,
This must not be used,
As justification for abuse.

That which is greater,
Has authority over the inferior,
But it is for the sake of the inferior,
That the greater has been given authority.

As man has dominion,
Over the face of the earth,
We have the task,
Of guiding all life found on it.

This guidance must not be,
One of neglect and tyranny.
Rather it must seek,
To bring all as one to God.

Our rational ability
Should help us guide
All of creation
So that it can reach God.

Saints in their holiness,
Have shown us the harmony
That we should seek
With the rest of creation.

It is a remarkable vision!
The Saints show us that all life
Can be raised by grace,
And share the joy of Christ.

The spirit of St. Francis
Is that of respect
For all of God’s creation.
By respecting creation, we respect God!

Those who have
Perfected themselves,
Can show us
The proper way to Christ.

The Saints show us,
That the way unto God,
Is a common destiny,
For all that exists.

V. Contemplation on Cycles

A cycle of life and death,
A cycle of pleasure and pain,
A cycle of good and evil,
All of these are found in humanity.

When splintered off into individuals,
Or when considered as a whole,
Humanity continues to progress,
To where it has been before.

Each individualization of humanity,
Repeats what has already been.
Through the progression of life,
Death remains the certain end.

Although humanity in essence is greater
Than any of its separated parts,
Each part wants to establish itself,
Above and beyond its own essence.

Because each individual is separated
From its own nature,
Instead of it becoming something greater,
It will only become something less.

Through sin humanity is divided.
Through sin pride is joined to a person.
The one who seeks to be something he is not,
Takes that which is not, and makes it his own.

By adding unto oneself that which is nothing,
One wounds the soul: emptiness is found.
Divided from humanity, one becomes,
Divided from oneself, without any center.

This process repeats itself,
From individual to individual.
It will continue,
As long as man does not seek harmonious unity.

From birth to death, the cycle continues,
Each individual separates itself from the whole.
Only by a return to that which should be whole,
Will this cycle of birth be stopped.

The way has already been established,
Through the Incarnation of God:
What man has separated in ignorance,
God has brought together in Wisdom.

Birth -- normally the beginning of discord,
Has become the means for unity.
Death -- normally the final separation,
Has become separated from its own end.

Nothingness which was empty,
Has been overtaken from on high.
Nothingness which was an illusion,
Has been removed by the Wisdom of God.

Who is the one that frees us?
He is the Source of all Reality.
He is above all that exists,
Thus, He is Nothing at all.

Man, in disunity, took upon itself,
The nothing which lacks all being.
When all that it should have sought,
Was the Nothing full of all being.

God is the Nothing which is full of life.
Fullness unites, emptiness divides:
The fullness of God is the vehicle,
For creation to reunite with its source.

Nothing is overtaken by Nothing,
Death is conquered by Death,
Separation is separated from man,
Disunity has finally been destroyed.

The cycle can end:
The path has been made.
For Nothing has become a thing,
And God is now one with man.

VI. Contemplation on Suffering

As suffering is found in this shattered world,
We must understand what it is.
But we must know that it is not,
For it is, in itself, purely a lack.

Suffering is given to the Cosmos,
As something which must be endured.
Suffering is brought about,
By acts of universal and particular injustice.

All crimes against the Universal Law,
Receive suffering as consequence.
It is not meant to be a punishment,
Rather it is a teacher to the soul.

For suffering establishes in its presence,
The desire for justice.
By enduring suffering,
The soul is taught righteousness.

Suffering is not only established,
Purely on the particular level.
For the Cosmos is interdependent,
And by these common bonds, suffering can occur.

Ignorance turns one away from justice,
Knowledge helps reestablish lost Wisdom.
Suffering helps point for the need for knowledge,
And purifies the soul from all stain.

Because of interconnected bonds,
Which unite objects of creation,
Justice can demand of a whole,
To pay for the crimes it committed together.

Suffering can also occur,
Not just from the crime individually done,
But for what one allowed to be,
Because the whole suffers with its parts.

Just as suffering can occur,
For what has been done as a whole,
A righteous soul can join with the unrighteous,
And help share in their suffering.

The suffering of a purified soul,
When it is joined together with an unjust soul,
Enables the impure to learn from purity,
And help lessen the suffering given to impurity.

How can the impure,
Gain from the suffering of the just?
It would seem to be injustice,
Would once again be found.

If we look at the union that is entered,
We see that the sinner is joined to the Saint.
The sinner is freed from suffering,
As if he had one life with the Saint.

Saints, the noblest of all souls,
Are able to join their lives
To sinners in order to share the pain of sin,
As if they were the one who committed the sin.

The Greatest of All,
The Incarnate One,
Through suffering on the cross,
Joins Himself to all who have communion with Him.

The suffering Jesus Christ endured --
That great scandal of history--
Allows all to join with the One,
Who is Justice Incarnate.

By joining together with Christ,
The sinner is able to share in the purity of Christ:
The sinner is enabled to become,
A co-worker of the Lord who Saves.

Since the suffering of Christ,
Enables one to learn through His work,
The scandal of suffering is able to be brought to an end,
The cycle of pleasure and pain is able to be halted.

Through Justice, impurity is stopped,
Through Wisdom, purity is reestablished.
Suffering will be no more,
When all creation joins with Christ.

VII. Contemplation on Renunciation

My Lord, I look about,
And I wonder,
What need is there,
For asceticism today?

Looking within myself I see,
My impurity destroys my internal peace.
When I lose this peace,
I lose all hope for happiness.

Through renouncing
All that I am,
You will be able to give,
All that I should be.

A vain pleasure fails to bring,
The happiness which I seek.
Rather, pleasure brings at its side,
Pain and suffering as companions.

One who has endured pain,
Will seek pleasure
As some shallow compensation.
With pleasure he also receive pain.

This is a cycle which might never end,
If one does not know the cause.
For pleasure brings pain,
And in pain, one seeks pleasure.

The only way out,
Is to reject this cycle.
One must start anew,
And enter a spiritual contest.

It is through self-control,
Through discipline of the heart,
That which is sought for,
Will be found from within.

For my mind sees,
That temporal pleasure
Can never satisfy
My eternal desire.

Pleasure can bring temporary relief,
But once it is consumed,
More will be demanded,
And suffering will return.

When I look within myself,
I see God.
At the same time I find,
I am within the God who is in me.

If I abandon,
All that distracts
From being with God,
I will find He is all that truly Is.

As my thirst is for
That which is eternal,
Through You, O God, it can be found,
As both pleasure and pain are removed.

I seek You, O Lord,
Beyond all pleasure and pain.
For both of these will be limited,
By their temporal existence.

Pleasure can never reach,
What You are, O Lord,
And so it must be abandoned,
To reach You in fullness.

Beyond all that is grasped,
There I must seek You.
Whatever is had, must be renounced,
So one can move closer to You.

To find You, O Lord,
One needs to know,
That whatever they have,
It will not be You.

Thus the way to You,
Is through ascetic struggle.
For in striving to perfection,
One will leave imperfection behind.

VIII. Contemplation on the Seven Sacraments

In the Seven Mysteries of the Church,
Are connected seven facets of the life of man.
God is able to provide for what is lacking
In one’s own life by His own means.

Mankind in its diversity,
Covers all of existence:
Both the spiritual and the physical,
Are both found within its boundaries.

Within birth and within death,
In sickness of soul or body,
In nourishment given by priest,
And in procreation, God gives us grace.

You have chosen man,
To be a source of grace.
Through man all of creation rejoices,
For through man, unity is to be restored.

The Seven Sacraments You have given,
Come from Your universal grace.
They are established through the power of the Incarnation,
And are able to help not just individually, but also universally.

Just as Your sight sees all,
It sees the individual in itself.
The individual is never separated from the universal,
But rather it is united with its own nature.

Grace given individually through the Sacraments,
Helps not just individually but also universally.
All things found in creation are interlinked:
Individuals are joined to essences, and essences are joined in God.

Thus all Seven Sacraments,
Even if they are applied individually,
Must also be seen to contain,
Grace which is being given to all.

As Your Church is universal,
And means where unity is restored,
So the Church through giving grace,
Affects both universals and particulars.

We must never limit Your work,
To those effects which we can count.
Rather we must reflect,
Upon Your Universal Sacrament.

For if a Sacrament is a visible manifestation,
Of Your ever-powerful grace,
Then Your Incarnation must itself be,
The manifestation of a universal Sacrament.

Although the Eucharist is a special Sacrament,
Which is received particularly,
It demonstrates most completely
That Universal Sacrament of the Incarnation.

For the Eucharist, although it hides Your appearance,
Nonetheless manifests to creation,
Your continued presence as the Incarnation
Who pours out grace unto everything.

IX. Contemplation on the Eucharist

As the feast of joy and thanksgiving,
It is noblest of Mysteries given to creation:
Jesus Christ enlightens mind and body,
By the Eucharistic celebration.

As it is the most profound Mystery I relate,
It shall be examined with utmost piety.
For I seek to discover that which is hid,
Beneath the appearances of wine and bread.

As Christ is two He is also one:
God and man united in perfection.
So within this cosmic gift,
There is both Son of Man and God.

As Son of Man, You are born of Mary,
As Son of Mary, Your flesh is from her flesh,
And enlivened by the Holy Spirit:
It is surely this flesh that is given to us as spiritual food.

Whence is the source of the flesh given to us?
Oh Mary, Mother of God, it is yours!
Your flesh is given to us all, through your Son,
And all partake of it through His sacrifice.

As the flesh was taken from Mary,
And joined with God,
It is also God, and not just man,
Which is given to us in this Mystery divine.

The Eucharist is perfect medication,
Given to the soul for its health.
Worthy is the Lamb of God,
And worthy is the Temple He enters.

If the flesh is one with God,
Then Creature and Creator are One!
Man is known as a microcosm, but what about this?
This is a Mystery far greater than that of man!

For God is the source of all existence,
And He is found inside all that exists.
But we also see that inside God is found all things,
And within all that is made, is found God!

This is a mighty paradox,
And it is the paradox of the Incarnation itself:
God is within that which is within Himself,
The Creator, unable to be circumscribed, is circumscribed!

In the Eucharist we find the God of creation,
And within the God of creation, is creation itself!
For nothing can exist outside of God,
Or else we would find a limit for the One without limits.

In the Eucharist, God is within Creation,
And since creation is within God,
The Eucharist is God within God,
And with God, all of creation is present.

In that which is given to us,
Is the Creator of all and with Him
We are given all of creation,
Including our own selves as we receive this gift!

The soul that partakes of the Eucharist,
Gets everything: God and Man,
For from man, he gets flesh from flesh,
And from God, all of creation with the Creator.

The soul that partakes of this thanksgiving feast,
Receives God. With God,
The soul also receives itself!
And it becomes fully alive.

The most noble Eucharist,
Grants to the soul that partakes of it,
The whole Kingdom of God: -- this includes
The soul itself, for it is a member of this Kingdom!

If the soul gains itself from the Eucharist,
What a wonderful joy it is to behold!
For as You are the lover of the soul,
You give the soul itself as the gift of Your love!

The Eucharist, in being all in all,
As it is fed to man,
Becomes the means for him to be real,
And the more one partakes, the more real one becomes.

The more we partake of the divinity--
As this is granted from the precious Mystery,
The more we becomes intertwined with the divine,
And we are brought into the life of the Trinity.

Oh Blessed Eucharist, Oh Mystery most noble,
You are a way for the soul to be one with God.
As You are God, You are the source of the soul itself.
By partaking of You, one partakes of the source of his existence.

X. Contemplation on Salvation

What does man do to himself?
He is self-destructive.
He allows himself to be divided,
And in this division he is destroyed.

Man should live a life of virtue,
But would rather engage in vice.
He turns from what is real,
And seeks an illusion.

When man does evil,
Ignorance is his guide.
Ignorance begets more ignorance:
And man falls deeper into the clutches of evil.

By taking what is an illusion,
And believing it to be real,
Man continues to reject his destiny,
And instead dies in his sin.

When man lives a life of vice,
He justly receives his own reward.
By adding vice unto himself,
Man receives the wound of death.

Through vice, ignorance rules,
Through ignorance, more vice is established.
Ignorance and vice make a perpetual circle
That has its grips on the soul of man.

Like a snake which is eating away at its tail
Would eventually consume its own existence,
So the man who continues to wound himself,
Would eventually be destroyed.

A man who has entered self-ignorance,
Must gain wisdom from outside.
A man who continues to destroy himself,
Must gain restoration from outside.

Sin is the sickness unto death,
And ignorance is death’s friend.
Sin is willed through ignorance:
It continues until there is nothing left to destroy.

Salvation is the reversal
Of this sickness unto death.
It gives health to those who are sick,
And it bestows wisdom to the ignorant.

One who is blind, needs to see.
One who is ignorant, needs to know.
One who is destroyed,
Needs to be rebuilt.

Whatever sin has consumed,
Can be repaired.
But we need to know,
Who it is that can fix these cavities of sin?

To be saved is to be healed:
One who has been saved,
Will no longer sin,
For his ignorance will be no more.

If one claims to be saved,
See if he no longer sins.
If he does, he has lied,
And continues blindly to destruction.

If one has fully been healed,
Self-induced blindness will no longer be.
For the ignorance which leads to vice,
Will no longer be manifest.

Jesus is the healer of souls:
He restores that which is consumed by sin.
He bestows knowledge to the ignorant,
And through Him evil is dispelled.

As long as one seeks the path,
Which leads to truth and wisdom,
One will be led to find,
The healing which one needs.

Through Jesus the soul is enabled,
To regain that which it lost:
Grace grants the wisdom,
Which ignorance cannot block.

We must never forget,
Salvation is a spiritual restoration:
It after by being healed in soul and body,
That we will finally be able to see God.

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