Photographic Views; or religious and moral truths

Front matter

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Univ, of Ill. Library O17 :

LU ~ HOTOGRAPHI

Introduction

Part T.

THE WORLD.

Nature in General, ; . eo ky

The Firmament, ; ; é ; : : The Sun, ; ‘ ; ; ‘ , ; ;: Stars—Meteors—Comets, . ; ‘ :

Air, Rain, Storms, Lightning, Rainbow. . : Light, Color, . : ‘ : . : .

Fire, t 86s : ‘ ‘ : ‘ 4 The Seasons, . r : , ° r Mountains, Hills and Plains, ° ‘ ° . Water—Streams—the Ocean, . é . ‘ Fields and Gardens, ‘ 2 ‘ ° ;: ‘ Plants and Trees,- . ° : ; ° .

Flowers and Fruits, ‘. ° ‘

Animals, . , ° .

The Interior of the Earth, ‘ : ‘ ‘ ‘

Part ee MAN.

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Part ITT.

GOD.

Man in relation to God, ‘ g ;

Christ, 2 ‘ é ;. ; °

Our Life for God, . : ; P

Models of Perfection—The Sante .

The Angels,

The Way of Per icin.

Means of Perfection—the Sacraments, The Most Holy Eucharist, . ° ‘

The State of Perfection, . ‘ e °

INTRODUCTION.

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‘2\EFORE opening this photographic gal- ~ ery of moral and religious truths, we must premise a few words, in order that

: the attentive reader may the better unsi Nee BW) derstand the bearing of these pictures a \ 5 when presented to his mind. No doubt there exists a deep and mysterious connection between intellectual truth and its reflection in the mind, and even in the exterior world. :

The mysterious depth of the Divine Nature itself, through the eternal generation of the Word, the second Person in the Godhead, points to this fact. St. Paul calls the Eternal Word ‘the figure of the substance” of God the Father.

iv Introduction.

The nature of the human soul also bears witness to this relation, for, as Holy Writ testifies, it is an image of the Divine Nature. |

The most essential operations of the soul partake of this character.

First, our intellectual operations evidently depend on the connection existing between the intellectual truth and its reflection, the word. For, without some interior ‘word, thinking would be impossible. Now, what is a word but the formal reflection of some thought, and consequently of some truth contained therein? Hence, in forming words, when speaking aloud, the use of the figure called oxomatopeia, to imitate, if possible, even by the sound of the word, the meaning of what we desire to express.

Next to spoken words, signs, and, among civilized nations, writing are used as a means of communicating our ideas.

Now, what is the language of signs but the typical manifestation of what we think? And what is writing but a conventional type representing our thoughts? The Chinese characters, which are the oldest, are purely typical; and in our Western languages, the letters used by the press are very properly calkd ¢yfes. History proves that, even before the invention of writing, men were instinctively led to clothe their knowledge in: the mysterious garb of figurative representations. It was the pride and the boast of Egypt, the birthplace of ancient learning, to convey the truth by hieroglyphics.

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Introduction. | v

To the eyes of the Christian thinker, the whole work appears ‘filled with innumerable symbolical figures— hieroglyphics—expressive of moral and religious truths. To discover these truths by simply glancing at these figures is the object of his most sublime contemplations. In this manner, truth itself is often better and more - clearly understood in all its bearings. "We have an evident proof of this fact in ascetical matters. Let us suppose a Saint to be speaking of great supernatural favors which he enjoyed in his union with God. Through want of personal experience, many a listener would find his language almost unintelligible. But one comparison will often throw so wonderful a light upon the subject as to make it almost intelligible, even to the uninitiated. Witness the writings of St. Teresa. Those who have not been favored with the experience of the Saint, must find it difficult, nay, impossible, to fathom her meaning when she speaks of “the flight and rapture of the spirit.” But as soon as she has recourse to a comparison, her meaning becomes clearer, and even the inexperienced may form at least some idea of it. Concerning this “ flight of the spirit” toward God, by means of an interior elevation, the Saint writes as follows: “It seems to me that the soul and the spirit must be one thing. I find no other difference between them than that existing between a brightly burning fire and its flame. The fire remains below, but the flame flashes upward; nevertheless, the fire and the flame are one -hing. So, also, when the soul, by the influence of God, vi Introduction.

is burning with the fire of His love, she sends forth a flame, which is the upward flight of the spirit, not dietinguishable from the soul itself, but so subtile and swift that it ascends into the superior regions, wherever God pleases to elevate 1t.”

Every one perceives how this figurative and emblematic representation of St. Teresa assists the reader to understand her meaning.

Another proof of this mysterious connection between truth and its type is found in the vivacity and power of poetry. The figurative expressions of truth furnish our minds with the wings of poetical rapture. The truth, elevation, and dignity of poetical representations depend on the choice, correctness, power, and sublimity of the comparisons employed. The real poet is like a painter ; with the vivid colors of his fancy he portrays the truth, and sketches a picture of thought.

In many instances, even the persuasive powers of the orator must be aided and sustained by the use of figurative expressions.

The ingenious application of figurative expressions imparts even to our conversation a great part of that charm and grace called wet.

All that has been hitherto said in regard to truth and its expression by the aid of figurative forms, is confirmed by the example and authority of Holy Writ. St. Paul, as we have observed, refers to the typical character of the relations between God the Son and God the Father.

The same Apostle calls the whole economy and insti-

Lnlteateecten: Wai tution of the Old Testament “typi_z? and figurative ”— a foreshadowing of the New Testament.

The Church militant stands in the same relation to the Church triumphant,

According !o0 the Apostle, the end of all the manifesta. tions of Divine wisdom and mercy is to renew in us the likeness of God. Coloss. IL. to,

The very language of the Bible is eminently figura. tive. If it were for no other reason, the correctness, the gtandeur and sublimity of the comparisons would render the Sacred Scriptures, even in a literary point of view, Superior to all the efforts of merely human eloquence.

All know how Christ, the Incarnate Word of God,

Tepresentat’ons. It had been written of Him long before His coming: “He wil] open His mouth in parables.” (P5.77.) And the Gospel relates: ‘Without parables He did not Speak to them.”

Finally, the very manner employed in writing these universe pass before him in review, and to note rapidly the flashes of light reflecting the mora] and religious truths contained in this volume.

Nature, indeed, seems to be electrified by the truth of faith, so that coming in contact with the contemplative intellect, these relations, like electric sparks, flash upon viii Introduction.

the mind, to the great delight and surprise of the Christian thinker. Or, to change the figure, it may be affirmed that the exterior or typical manifestation of truth is the pulse of a mysterious life, hidden in nature through its relations to faith, so that we may apply to it the words in which the Church prays: “ Regem Cui omnia vivunt Venite adoremus ”—Let us adore the King to Whom all things live. In this sense, St Augustine, according to another reading of the Bible, interprets the words of St. John: ‘ Quod factum est, in Ipso vita erat”—-What was made, was life in Him.

So viewed, all nature, inanimate as well as animate. .speaks to the heart, and becomes a teacher, as we read in the book of Job: ‘Ask the beasts, and they shall teach thee ; and the birds of the air, and they shall tell thee. Speak to the carth, and it shall answer thee, and the fishes of the sea shall tell.”

So, for us, all creatures may become guides pointing to God, our Creator and Redeemer, and to the way of salvation, conducting us by the hand toward heaven, where we shall see God Himself, the Infinite Truth, not dimly, as in a mirror, but face to face.

THE AUTHOR.

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION, A. D. 1872.