Saturday, June 29, 2019

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, 2006Chapter 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.
[11] Suso, A Little Book, Chapter XIII, Kindle edition.

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