A Little Book from a Spiritual Giant: A
Review on Blessed Henry Suso’s Little
Book of Eternal Wisdom
I have always been fond of reading self-help
books. They teach me practical skills to improve my character and help me know
others and myself better. As a religious sister, I find that the best books,
which help one to know, to love, and to serve, are spiritual works written by
saints – men and women who embraced the cross, formed an interior life, practiced
what they preached, and strived for holiness each day. The very title of this
book, Little Book of Eternal Wisdom really
caught my attention. The words “Little Book” of “Eternal Wisdom” sound as if
something so infinite and beyond reach, are made tangible and comprehensible.
Similar to the spiritually enriching classics Interior Castle or Cloud of
Unknowing, the Little Book of Eternal
Wisdom is a guide for the soul who desires to advance in closeness to God.
I was expecting the book to be filled with simple reflections or life lessons, but
instead found a profound, intimate conversation between the soul and the
divine. The character of the servant speaks in the person of a sinner, a “soul
that is love-sick.”[1]
It is a dialogue between man and Wisdom Himself.
The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom was
originally translated and published for Catholics in England.[2]
It was written during the High Middle Ages, a remarkable period in the History
of the Catholic Church that gave way to Christendom. Great theologians such as
Scotus, Aquinas, Anselm, and Abelard had developed Scholasticism. The written
style is extremely formal since it is a single dialogue to Wisdom. Before
delving into the text, we can appreciate this work because of its much-admired
author, Blessed Henry Suso. He was a German mystic and Dominican priest, born
at Constance in the thirteenth century.[3]
He entered the Dominican convent and pursued theological and philosophical
studies for the priesthood. When Blessed Henry was eighteen years old, he fell
in love with the title of the Divine essence, “Eternal Wisdom,” and began to
call himself the “Servant of Eternal Wisdom.”[4]
Blessed Henry’s burning love for Eternal Wisdom is revealed in this book as he refers
to himself as “the Servant.” His
disposition as servant before the Almighty manifests the significance of
humility and reverence in the spiritual journey to embark on. At that time, the
highest expressions of medieval piety were mystical.[5]
A soul in mysticism would experience phenomenon that would transcend above all
objective manifestations of God such as icons and images, and encounter the
Divine directly. Blessed Henry Suso is known to be one of the leading mystics
during this period of Scholastic intellectualism.[6]
According to historians, mysticism can be traced to the Neo-Platonism of
Pseudo-Dionysius when the soul emanated from God through stages of descending,
and then returned to God through a series of ascents.[7]
In the Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, the
reader goes through several steps, which reflect a similar series of ascending
towards God.
There are three main parts to the Little Book of Wisdom. Each part will
walk you through Christ’s suffering and take you deeper into the Mystery of the
Cross. The first part is entitled, “How Some Persons are Unconsciously
Attracted to God.” It opens with the following words from the Book of Wisdom, “Her
have I loved, and have sought her out from my youth, and have desired to take
her for my spouse, and I became a lover of her beauty.” Whether or not a person
is conscious of it, the soul longs for its Creator, just as the mind thirsts
for knowledge. This is why we long for wisdom, beauty, and truth. It is because
in essence, the heart longs for God. God is Eternal Wisdom. God is Beauty. God
is Truth.
Throughout history, men have sought wisdom from
books, teachers, clergy and noblemen. Blessed Henry Suso teaches us that if we
wish to gain Eternal Wisdom in the fullest, we must begin in prayer. In other
words, we must dialogue with Wisdom Himself. The book begins with a dialogue
between “the Servant” and Eternal Wisdom. There was once a servant who felt
very cold in his heart, not knowing what he thirsted for. “I have pursued it
ardently many a year, but I never could grasp it, for I know not what it is,
and yet it is something that attracts my heart an soul, without which I never
can attain true rest.”[8]
The servant describes a severe restlessness and burning sensation to know
exactly not what, but whom he desires. Since childhood, the servant has longed
for it, even not knowing what it is. The servant claims to see it in creatures,
but the closer he draws to creatures, the less he finds it.[9]
The servant discovers that he is not satisfied with the people and things he
tends towards to, for in the end, they do not fulfill him interiorly. This
prayer reflects the heart of someone who no longer is attracted to the things
of the world, but seeks what is above. It is the prayer of a philosopher or a
wise man, yet simple like a child.
Eternal Wisdom responds to the servant that He
has always been there. Eternal Wisdom answers: “Do you not know it? And yet it
has lovingly embraced you, has often stopped you in the way, until it has at
length won you for itself alone.”[10]
When the servant admits that he never recognized Eternal Wisdom, Wisdom
responds that he must open the eyes of the heart because creatures and other
things of the world distract it.
The first part then transitions into the
second part that focuses on suffering. Wisdom is obtained when one undergoes
trials and suffering. I found this part to be absolutely essential to one’s
spiritual journey, as we cannot pursue Heaven without sharing in the Cross of
Christ. At the same time, the second part answers the common question of why
God permits suffering. As the soul grows deeper in love with God, it is drawn
to sacrifice and reparation. The soul is drawn to imitate the Beloved, who
manifests His love for us in the Paschal Mystery. Yet, there even comes a point
when the soul rejoices to suffer for the Beloved. Blessed Henry Suso writes, “There
is nothing more painful than suffering, and nothing more joyful than to have
suffered.”[11]
This level of spirituality is a higher call to love others as Christ loved us.
The last part of Little Book of Eternal Wisdom turns our attention to where the soul
began to embrace Wisdom – in prayer. Blessed Henry Suso provides one hundred
meditations and prayers on the Passion of Our Lord, as a guide for the soul to
follow Christ closely in the spiritual journey marked with trials and
sacrifices. Each meditation gives powerful imagery of what Christ endured for
our sake and leads the soul into contemplation of the Cross. Yet it is to be
noted that the everlasting joys of Heaven and the fruits of the Resurrection
are hoped for in the life to come. I found this last part on prayer to be a
“send-off” from spiritual guide, Blessed Henry Suso, as the reader continues
his spiritual journey. It is as if the reader has walked with Blessed Henry as
a spiritual tutor for miles, and is now going to go on the rest of the way led
by the Spirit.
[1] Blessed Henry Suso, A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, (Burns
Oates & Washbourne Ltd., 1910), Preface, Kindle edition.
[2] Suso, A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, Kindle
edition.
[3] McMahon, A., “Blessed
Henry Suso,” at the Catholic Encyclopedia (1 June 1910), at
http://www.newadvent.org.
[4] McMahon, A., “Blessed
Henry Suso.”
[5] James Hitchcock, History of the Catholic Church, (San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012), Chapter 8, Kindle edition.
[6] Hitchcock, History of the Catholic Church, Chapter
8.
[7] Ann W. Astell, The Eucharist and the Spiritual Arts of the Middle Ages, (New York City: Cornell University, 2006) Chapter
8.
[8] Suso, A Little Book, Chapter I, Kindle
edition.
[9] Suso, A Little Book, Chapter II, Kindle
edition.
[10] Suso, A Little Book, Chapter XIV 14, Kindle
edition.
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