Carmelite Quotes<p>The Church established the use of images for two principal reasons: the reverence given to the saints through them; and both the motivation of the will and the awakening of devotion to the saints by their means. Insofar as they serve this purpose their use is profitable and necessary. </p><p>We should consequently choose those images that are more lifelike and move the will more to devotion. Our concentration should be centered on this devotion more than on the elaborateness of the workmanship and its ornamentation.</p><p>There are, as I say, some people who pay more attention to the workmanship and value of the statue than to the object represented. And the interior devotion, which they should direct spiritually toward the invisible saint in immediate forgetfulness of the statue—since the purpose of the statue is to give motivation—is so taken up with the exterior artistry and ornamentation that the senses receive satisfaction and delight; then both the love and joy of the will dwell on that satisfaction. This is a total obstacle to authentic spirituality, which demands annihilation of the affections in all particular things.</p><p>Such an attitude is obvious in the abominable custom some have in these times of ours. </p><p>Without any abhorrence of vain worldly fashions, they adorn statues with the jewelry conceited people in the course of time invent to satisfy themselves in their pastimes and vanities, and they clothe the statues in garments that would be reprehensible if worn by themselves—a practice that was and still is abhorrent to the saints represented by the statues. </p><p>In company with the devil they strive to canonize their vanities, not without serious offense to the saints. By this practice the authentic and sincere devotion of the soul, which in itself uproots and rejects every vanity and trace of it, is reduced to little more than doll-dressing. </p><p>Some use the statues for nothing more than idols upon which they center their joy. </p><p>You will see some who never tire of adding statue on statue to their collection, or insist that the statue be of this particular kind and craftsmanship and placed in a certain niche and in a special way—all so these statues will give delight to the senses. </p><p>As for devotion of heart, there is very little. They are as attached as Micah and Laban were to their idols, for Micah left his house shouting because they were stolen; and Laban, after a long journey and being enraged, turned over all of Jacob’s household furnishings in search for them [<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jg%2018%3A23-24&version=NRSVCE" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Judg 18:23-24</a>; <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gn.%2031%3A23-35&version=NRSVCE" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Gen 31:23-35</a>].</p><p>People who are truly devout direct their devotion mainly to the invisible object represented, have little need for many images, and use those that conform more to divine traits than to human ones. They bring these images—and themselves through them—into conformity with the fashion and condition of the other world, not with this one. </p><p>They do this so worldly images will not stir their appetite and so they will not even be reminded of the world, as they would in having before their eyes any object apparently a part of this world. Their heart is not attached to these goods, and if these are taken away, their grief is slight. </p><p>They seek the living image of Christ crucified within themselves, and thereby they are pleased rather to have everything taken from them and to be left with nothing.</p><p><strong>Saint John of the Cross</strong></p><p><em>The Ascent of Mount Carmel, III, ch. 35, nos. 3–5 </em></p> <p>John of the Cross, St. 1991, <em>The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition</em>, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.icspublications.org/products/the-collected-works-of-st-john-of-the-cross" target="_blank">ICS Publications</a>, Washington DC.</p><p><strong>Featured image:</strong> Photographer Marko Vombergar captured this image of <a href="https://flic.kr/p/Ho768h" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">a pilgrim</a> to Argentina’s <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/113018453@N05/albums/72157669752341766/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">2016 National Eucharistic Congress</a> in Tucumán. Image credit: Marko Vombergar for aleteia.org / Flickr (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Some rights reserved</a>)</p> <p><a href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/31/juan-subida-iii35/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/10/31/juan-subida-iii35/</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/christ-crucified/" target="_blank">#ChristCrucified</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/devotion/" target="_blank">#devotion</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/idolatry/" target="_blank">#idolatry</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/image/" target="_blank">#image</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/interior-life/" target="_blank">#interiorLife</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/motivation/" target="_blank">#motivation</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/prayer/" target="_blank">#prayer</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/st-john-of-the-cross/" target="_blank">#StJohnOfTheCross</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://carmelitequotes.blog/tag/statue/" target="_blank">#statue</a></p>