Christian Art | George Herbert | Sepulchre | The Church | Mattens
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Mattens
I cannot ope mine eyes,
But thou art ready there to catch
My morning-soul and sacrifice:
Then we must needs for that day make a match.
My God, what is a heart?
Silver, or gold, or precious stone,
Or starre, or rainbow, or a part
Of all these things, or all of them in one?
My God, what is a heart,
That thou shouldst it so eye, and wooe,
Powring upon it all thy art,
As if that thou hadst nothing els to do?
Indeed mans whole estate
Amounts (and richly) to serve thee:
He did not heav’n and earth create,
Yet studies them, not him by whom they be.
Teach me thy love to know;
That this new light, which now I see,
May both the work and workman show:
Then by a sunne-beam I will climbe to thee.
George Herbert | The Temple | The Church | Mattens
The poem reflects an intimate conversation between the poet and God, exploring the nature of human devotion, the human heart, and divine presence. It begins with Herbert’s realization that God is present from the very moment Herbert opens his eyes each morning, indicating God’s constant vigilance and readiness to connect with the human soul. This immediate presence of God suggests that each day is a fresh opportunity for a ‘match’ or covenant, where both God and the poet engage in a continuous relationship of devotion and acknowledgment.
Herbert then contemplates the essence of the human heart, wondering why God would focus so much attention on something seemingly humble and ordinary. He questions what a heart is made of, comparing it to valuable and radiant elements like silver, gold, precious stones, stars, and rainbows, only to dismiss these comparisons by asking if the heart is perhaps all these things combined. Through these comparisons, Herbert explores the heart’s potential value in the eyes of God, emphasizing such depth and complexity of what might appear to be a simple human attribute.
In the third stanza, Herbert marvels that God would devote such careful attention to the human heart. The phrase ‘pouring upon it all thy art’ suggests that God engages in an intentional and tender effort to nurture the heart, as if He had nothing else to occupy Him. This line highlights the poet’s wonder at the profound care and affection God shows toward humans, even though humans themselves are so often preoccupied with the material world rather than with their Creator.
The poem meditates on human priorities. Herbert reflects that humanity, though created by God and with the purpose of serving Him, often chooses instead to focus on studying ‘heaven and earth’—the physical universe and its phenomena—while neglecting the Creator who brought all these things into being. This observation criticizes human tendencies to be absorbed by worldly pursuits and intellect, rather than by spiritual understanding or reverence for God.
In the final stanza, Herbert expresses a desire to truly understand God’s love. He asks for divine instruction so that he may fully comprehend this ‘new light’ he has glimpsed, a light representing awareness or insight into God’s nature. The poet hopes this enlightenment will reveal both the divine work—the world and everything in it—and the ‘workman,’ God Himself. The metaphor of the ‘sunbeam’ in the closing line symbolizes a path or bridge to God, suggesting that Herbert, having been enlightened by divine love, seeks to ascend spiritually toward the divine.
The poem is an exploration of the poet’s relationship with God, his sense of awe at God’s focus on human hearts, and his aspiration to rise above worldly distractions. The language of light and ascent underscores a desire for spiritual elevation and a deeper understanding of divine purpose, concluding with a yearning to bridge the gap between the human and the divine.
Christian Art | Our Lord Jesus On The Cross | God The Father | God The Son Office Of Readings | Advent December 23rd | A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed ‘The hidden sacrament is revealed.’ In this reading, Saint Hippolytus writes against the Noetic heresy, which denied the real distinction between the Father and the Son by treating them as the same person acting under different names. The purpose of Saint Hippolytus is to defend the Church’s confession of one God who is not solitary, but who exists with his Word and Spirit. Hippolytus begins by setting a principle: knowledge of God comes from the Holy Scriptures, not from speculation or private reasoning. Faith is not shaped by human preference but by what God has chosen to reveal. The Father determines how He is believed, the Son how He is glorified, and the Spirit how He is received. This establishes Scripture as the rule of faith and guards against theological invention. Hippolytus then affirms that God existed alone before creation, with nothing co-eternal alongside Him. At the same time, God was not without reason, wisdom, or power. Hippolytus insists that plurality within God does not compromise divine unity. God contains within himself Word, wisdom, and counsel. Creation begins when God wills and manifests His Word. The Word is not created from nothing but proceeds from God and acts as the agent of creation. The Word is first invisible to the created world, though known to God. When God chooses, He makes the Word visible, described as ‘Light of Light’. This language safeguards both distinction and unity: the Word comes from God and reveals God, without being separate from Him. The manifestation of the Word is ordered towards salvation, so that the world may see and be saved. Hippolytus identifies this Word clearly with the Son of God. Through him all things were made, and he alone comes forth from the Father. The Law and the prophets belong to the same saving plan. God speaks through them by the Holy Spirit, so that they proclaim not their own ideas but the Father’s will. Revelation is therefore coherent: creation, prophecy, and incarnation belong to one divine purpose. Hippolytus appeals to the Gospel of John to show continuity between prophecy and fulfilment. The Word spoken of by the prophets is the Word made flesh. Though the world was made through him, it failed to recognise him. This failure does not negate God’s plan but reveals the depth of the mystery now disclosed. A Reading From The Treatise Of Saint Hippolytus Against The Heresy Of Noetus | The Hidden Sacrament Is Revealed There is, brethren, one God, the knowledge of whom we gain from the Holy Scriptures and from no other source. Whatever things the Holy Scriptures declare, at these let us look; and whatever they teach, let us learn it; and as the Father wills our belief to be, let us believe; and as he wills the Son to be glorified, let us glorify him; and as he wills the Holy Spirit to be bestowed, let us receive him. Not according to our own will, nor according to our own mind, nor yet storming by force the things which are given by God, but even as he has chosen to teach them by the Holy Scriptures, so let us discern them. God, subsisting alone, and having nothing coeval with himself, chose to create the world. And conceiving the world in mind, and willing and uttering the Word, he made it; and at once it appeared, formed it in the way he desired. For us it is sufficient simply to know that nothing was coeval with God. Outside him there was nothing; but he, while existing alone, yet existed in plurality. For he did not lack reason, or wisdom, or power, or counsel. All things were in him, and he was the All. At a time and in a manner chosen by him he made his Word manifest, and through his Word he made all things. He bears this Word in himself, as yet invisible to the created world. He makes him visible, uttering the voice first, and begetting him as Light of Light. He presents him to the world as its Lord; and whereas the Word was visible formerly to God alone, and invisible to the world which is made, God makes the Word visible in order that the world might see him and be able to be saved. This is the mind which came forth into the world and was manifested as the Son of God. All things came into being through him, and he alone comes from the Father. He gave us the Law and the prophets; and in giving them, he made them speak by the Holy Ghost, in order that, receiving the inspiration of the Father’s power, they might declare the Father’s counsel and will. Thus, then, was the Word made manifest, even as the blessed John says. For he sums up the things that were said by the prophets, and shows that this is the Word, by whom all things were made. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. And later, The world was made by him, and the world did not know him; he came to his own, and his own did not receive him. Christian Prayer With Jesus Lord God,You are one, and from You come the Word and the Spirit.You have chosen to make Yourself known, not by human effort,but by what You have revealed in the scriptures. You spoke Your Word, and all things were made.You made that Word visible, so that the world might see and be saved.Grant that we may receive what You give,believe what You teach,and worship You as You have shown Yourself to be. Keep us […]
This reading from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council sets out a broad vision of God’s plan of salvation and the place of the Church within it. Drawing on Scripture and the tradition of the Church, it presents salvation history as a continuous and purposeful work of God, rooted in creation and directed towards fulfilment at the end of time [ … ]
In this meditation, Saint Augustine leads us to the very heart of Holy Week: the mystery of divine love revealed in the passion and death of Christ. The reading centers on Christ’s declaration from the Gospel of John: ‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (John 15:13). For Augustine, this is not merely a moving sentiment but the highest expression of divine charity (caritas), the model of love that defines the Christian life [ … ]
