Using a record of some conversations he had with friends, aelred of rievaulx wrote about spiritual friendship as a special relationship that is both an expression of gods love and a path to knowing gods love. Jan 12 st aelred of rievaulx 111067 catholicireland. Jan 12 st aelred of rievaulx 111067 12 january, 2012. They aim to learn about friendship from a friend, and in the presence. The dialogue structure of spiritual friendship immediately shows the importance of others in the spiritual life. In this way, we are the arms and voice of god to one another through spiritual friendship. The context, then, in which aelred sets spiritual friendship is in taking their beginning from christ, advancing through christ, and then are perfected in christ. Aelred s treatise on spiritual friendship is a spiritual classic because it has something to say in every age. If, in aelreds view, only a relationship with a fellow christian can truly be called a spiritual friendship, that isnt because i. When these qualities are present, spiritual friends can entrust themselves to one another securely. Aelred is an inspiration for spiritual directors, counselors, friends, and parents. Spiritual friendship aelred of rievaulx cistercian publications. Flag question question text levi strauss believes that it believes in diversity and is open minded. These include his treatises on spiritual friendship and the mirror of charity, his rule for the recluse, various sermons and a life of edward the confessor.
See also sommerfeldt, vocabulary of contemplation in aelred of rievaulx on jesus at the age of twelve, a rule of life for a recluse, and on spiritual friendship, 74. Jan 12, 2011 during this period, aelred wrote his best known work, spiritual friendship. Grows out of his work with the shalem community and their use and promotion of spiritual friendship as a means of faith development. Spiritual friendship cistercian studies series marsha l. As kelly notes, this amounts to treating the enemy as a friend, albeit not confiding ones deepest secrets in him sharing secrets being a sure mark, for aelred, of the mutuality of true friendship. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. Saint aelred of rievaulx is currently considered a single author. Writing in the style of a platonic dialog aelred builds off of the insights of cicero, the writings of the church fathers, his own experience of life in common as well as his experience of the depths of friendship in order to present this series of dialogs on the joys of friendship. On spiritual friendship visitation monastery of minneapolis. Paulist press, 1980 a practical discussion of the why, what and how of spiritual friendships.
Spiritual friends have the ability to make gods love experiential. The mirror of charity, written at the beginning of his monastic life, and spiritual friendship, written near its end, form a set. Spiritual friendship is today the best known and perhaps most influential of the thirteen surviving works of aelred, abbot of the great english cistercian abbey of rievaulx from 1147 1167. Throughout his life, aelred took great joy in his friends and. As a writer, too, aelred seems to address our modern concerns and sensibilities. Aelred, 9780870612428, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. From spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx, 3. Aelred based his conception of spiritual friendship on a metaphysics of the kiss. During his abbacy he built rievaulx into a place of spiritual welcome and physical prosperity, desiring to make it a mother of mercy to those in need. Pdf aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship cistercian. Ambroses contribution to aelred of rievaulxs spiritual friendship. Aelred, the best kind of friendship is the one which is growing redemptively and spiritually all the time, in mutual support before god. Speculum caritatis the mirror of charity, which aelred wrote at bernards insistence, is a. In the opening line of his classic treatise spiritual friendship, aelred of rievaulx, a twelfthcentury english monk, portrays the profoundly simple, fundamental essence of spiritual friendship.
Aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship pdf what is the. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx goodreads. Here we are, you and i, and i hope that christ makes a third with us. Those familiar with aelred may be surprised that i intend to use his works to reflect on a spirituality of mercy, rather than on spiritual friendship. Together they demonstrate both the consistency of his teaching and his unswerving love of god in christ. Aelred of rievalux work on spiritual friendship presents the most noble presentation of friendship i have ever read. Oct 30, 2012 what is a spiritual friendship and why does the bible say its so important. Friendship is that virtue by which spirits are bound by ties of love and sweetness and out of many are made one.
Missionary reentry transition and disrupted spiritual. Marsha l dutton the abbot of the english cistercian abbey of rievaulx from 11471167 explores the spiritual nature of human friendship, defining it as sacramental and as a vehicle for god to transmit his love to all. Spiritual direction is a counseling process, whose goal is not merely human or psychological wellbeing but friendship with christ. Aelred made the case that one of the great practices of the christian life is being transformed by the presence of a spiritual friend. Apr 01, 2010 spiritual friendship is today the best known and perhaps most influential of the thirteen surviving works of aelred, abbot of the great english cistercian abbey of rievaulx from 1147 1167. Ignatius with adaptation for all faiths dear lord, teach me to be generous, teach me to love and serve you as you deserve.
Aelred was one of three sons of eilaf, priest of st andrews at hexham and himself a son of eilaf, treasurer of durham. Apr 01, 2010 aelred of rievalux work on spiritual friendship presents the most noble presentation of friendship i have ever read. Utility exploits the human impulse to love and be loved. It is the almost exclusive objective of spiritual friendship. Aelred was an anglosaxon, born in hexham, northumbria, in 1110. As i reflect on the notion of spiritual friendship, i am immediately struck by those i count as friends in this area of my life. Featuring ron belgau, matthew lee anderson, johanna finegan, and br. Henrys succession and the merging of the norman and anglo. We can see the importance of those two works when we consider the contrast between the strict demeanor found in most monastic orders of that day, and that of st. This article is a case study in the methodology of neurohistory, combining a.
For aelred, the monastic community life is simply a life of friendship. Pdf the sacramentality of community in aelred of rievaulx. Pdf download aelred of rievaulx the way of friendship spirituality through the ages series read online. Preoccupied with temporal advantages, it follows the purse. While love is universal, freely given to all, friendship is a particular love between individuals, of which the example is jesus and john the beloved disciple. Spiritual friendship cistercian fathers book 5 kindle. All love, to aelred, is a participation in godlove that leads us to union. Poznat je kao autor brojnih knjiga na temu engleske historije i vjerskih pitanja. Traditions of spiritual guidance aelred of rievaulx brendan callaghan 375 c istercian spirituality and christian friendship have each fea tured in traditions of spiritual guidance, 1 so for aelred to be treated in his own right might seem unnecessary. Feb 01, 2016 see also sommerfeldt, vocabulary of contemplation in aelred of rievaulx on jesus at the age of twelve, a rule of life for a recluse, and on spiritual friendship, 74. Friendship as spiritual encouragement geralyn july 1, 20 at 8. I have written my share of essays which use friendship as models for discussion, and in time, i too, will post them online.
Just because you are spiritual friends doesnt mean you have to be serious and holy all the time. Aelred of rievaulx, abbot society of archbishop justus. In lifes journey together, the encouragement of a spiritual friend in both word and embrace become incarnational. Maybe all the gay marriage advocates are really just angling for spiritual friendships, but theyre too circumspect to say so, lest they lose the respect of their base. Aelred had a charism for chaste spiritual friendships. The governing principle of worldly friendship is utility.
Patricia carroll ocso draws our attention to aelred of rievaulx, a cistercian saint and spiritual writer who specialised in writing about friendship as an image of. Shortly after aelred s death in 1167 an account of his life was written by his pupil, walter daniel. Lets listen in on the soul talk and spiritual friendship that goes on between aelred and ivo an excerpt from spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx. Symposium would also assert that to ascend the sublimation ladder from physical to spiritual mean you have to physically love before you can ascend. The spiritual kiss is characteristically the kiss of friends who are bound by one law of friendship. If we were looking for a patron saint of all those who endeavour to establish christcentred relationships, whether inside or outside of marriage, aelred would surely be at the top of the list. The wide variety of applications for can and canopen is discussed, and instructions in developing embedded networks based on the protocol are included. Providing a detailed look at both can and canopen, this book examines those technologies in the context of. In buddhism, spiritual friendship is a translation for the pali term, kalyana mittata. Pour into our hearts, o god, the holy spirits gift of love, that we, clasping each the others hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with your servant aelred draw many to your community of love.
Certain readings of the symposium would also assert that to ascend the sublimation ladder from physical to spiritual mean you have to physically love before you can ascend. Aelred s writings were highly regarded by contemporaries and are still greatly valued. Let me begin by giving friendship a definition, in doing so we separate what is and isnt a friend and we also give it proper biblical honor. Aelred says the next kind of friendship is worldly. Aelred of rievaulx quotes author of spiritual friendship. The really interesting question, though, melinda, is whether gay marriage is actually just code for spiritual friendship. Please enjoy these spiritual quotes on friendship from my collection of friendship quotes. Friendship, aelred teaches, is both a gift from god and a creation of human effort. Daniel lord smail, on deep history and the brain berkeley.
Saint aelred of rievaulx primary author only author division. I went to rievaulx out of gratitude for that witness. Aelred, who permitted holding hands and showing other. I point to my mom, god rest her soul, who was an unabashed spiritual explorer throughout her life and wasnt afraid to share her discoveries.
Professor of spiritual theology, regent college, vancouver, british columbia at one of the breakout meetings of the national prayer breakfast, february 1, 2001, congressman mike doyle testi. In short, monastic theology, like monastic friendship according to the exemplary account of aelred of rievaulx, is ideally a balanced activity of reason and will, profoundly christcentered, existentially grounded in both sensible and spiritual experience, and quintessentially expressed in. No medicine is more valuable, none more efficacious, none better suited to the cure of all our temporal ills than a friend to whom we may turn for consolation in time of trouble, and with whom we may share our happiness in time of joy. When i was still just a lad at school, and the charm of my companions pleased me very much, i gave my whole soul to affection and devoted myself to love amid the ways and vices with which that age is wont to be threatened, so that nothing seemed to me more. One of the earliest criticisms was dan mattsons july, 2012 first things article, why i dont call myself a gay christian. On july 26, 2018 from 15pm, spiritual friendship will host a preconference, immediately preceding the revoice conference in st. Consider, for example, aelred s reflections on how spiritual friendship leads us to. Recovering male samesex friendships in the modern era introduction human beings are fundamentally social creatures, with complex rules and guidelines for social behavior and interactions. In fact it is so noble, incredible and rare that one could say that he refers to intimacies between persons so great that contemporary culture would be inclined to describe such relations as being soul mates or kindred spirits. Friendship as spiritual encouragement peace theology. Aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship john protevi. Patricia carroll ocso draws our attention to aelred of rievaulx, a cistercian saint and spiritual writer who specialised in writing about friendship as an image of the relationship between god and each person.
In his classical work spiritual friendship, aelred lists four requirements for being a spiritual friend. Jan 12, 2015 known best for his treatises on spiritual friendship and the mirror of charity, in which he sketched a vision for monastic community, aelred has become the unofficial patron saint of friendship, owing to his powerful depiction of the spiritual fruitfulness of samesex love. One of the most consistent criticisms of spiritual friendship by those associated with courage has been our use of language, particularly the word gay. Spiritual friendship quotes spiritual quotes about friendship.
Aelred of rievaulx download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Spiritual friendship, cistercian pubns 27 copy quote. It adds the dimension of explicit faith to counseling and a special nuance to spiritual friendship. In the course of his life as a monk aelred wrote two treatises on that subject. In christianity, spiritual friendship is a text from the 12th century by cistercian monk saint aelred of rievaulx. True friendship, however, is grounded in christ and, like chastity, is a gift of gods grace. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx 323 ratings, 4. Aelred considers friendship a christian virtue worth pursuing. When he was abbot at rievaulx there were over three hundred monks there. You also want to make sure that you are a good spiritual friend as well. In his teaching that the interior life is communalthat we move from self and sin to find god in communitywe might imagine we are hearing henri j. It is a spiritual family made up of lay catholics single, married, or widowed who choose to live their lives grounded in the gospel and according to salesian teachings and virtues.
It starts as a dialogue between aelred and ivo, with a third, christ, present with them. To give and not to count the cost prayer prayers the scout prayer prayer of st. Here is my reading log from aelred of rievaulxs classic devotional book on spiritual friendship. In the cross of christ there is death, and in the cross of christ there is life saturday, mar 31 2012. Friendship, it seems fair to assume, was undertaken as much to clar ify and work out his own selfunderstanding as with any particular readership in mind. Lord, grant that i might not so much seek to be loved as to love. In spiritual friendship, aelred notes there are three kinds of friendship.
As a cistercian monk in the middle ages, aelred of rievaulxs 11101167 life was likely filled with physical work and contemplative prayer. Joe trout, op, the preconference will provide a theological foundation for thinking about desire, the fall, and the sanctification of human love. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx 9780879079703. He taught that through friendship we are sanctified.
Aelred writes in the prologue to his best known work, the treatise on spiritual friendship, that. The friendships of aelred and christina contained the spiritual, passionate. Traditions of spiritual guidance 379 of st bernard, aelred develops a general theology of love. Pdf download aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship a new. Spiritual friendship, by aelred of rievaulx, alban books.
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