Read book pdf online here download aelred of rievaulx spiritual. Read book pdf online here 1589660234pdf download aelred of rievaulx spiritual. Saint aelred of rievaulx cistercian monk britannica. To explore this answer, i will draw extensively from the works of aelred of rievaulx. Aelred of rievaulx possessed a personal charm which drew friends and disciples naturally to him. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx goodreads. What aelred discovered is that happiness does not exist without friendship. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was less than 100. Apr 01, 2010 spiritual friendship is today the best known and perhaps most influential of the thirteen surviving works of aelred, abbot of the great english cistercian abbey of rievaulx from 1147 1167. Robert lentz, ofm, that some dear friends of mine gave me at christmas this year. The treatise is a series of dialogues in which three monks join aelred to examine their ideas about.
It has been about 900 years, so i shouldnt be so surprised. Aelred of rievaulx us from gods service, as well as deluding our understanding of spiritual friendship. His own experience of human weakness in a worldly life at the court of king david of scotland made him sensitive to the doctrine of charity which he found among cistercian monks. Certain readings of the symposium would also assert that to ascend the sublimation ladder from physical to. An excerpt from spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx aelred. Today is the feast day of aelred of rievaulx, often called the patron saint of friendship. In his writings on friendship, aelred distinguished three kinds.
Over the years aelred rose to considerable prominence in england, and his counsel was sought out by church. For further reading, i recommend aelred squire op, aelred of rievaulx. Here we are, you and i, and i hope that christ makes a third with us. While love is universal, freely given to all, friendship is a particular love between individuals, of which the example is jesus and john the beloved disciple.
During this period, aelred wrote his best known work, spiritual friendship. The classic text with a spiritual commentary by dennis billy, c. Jan 12, 2011 during this period, aelred wrote his best known work, spiritual friendship. Ignatian spirituality is given through guided meditations, weekend, 8day, and 30day retreats based on the spiritual exercises of st. Spiritual friendship is today the best known and perhaps most influential of the thirteen surviving works of aelred, abbot of the great english cistercian abbey of rievaulx from 1147 1167. Patricia carroll ocso draws our attention to aelred of rievaulx, a cistercian saint and spiritual writer who specialised in writing about friendship as an image of the relationship between god and each person. I would be interested to listen to a recording of this work.
Throughout his life, aelred took great joy in his friends and. And here is my memory of visiting the ruin of rievaulx abbey a few years ago rounding the bend in the road from the village of thirsk in north yorkshire, your first glimpse. Life in the medieval cloister, continuum publishing 2009 leyser, henrietta. And aelred takes a further significant step when he moves from affirming that god is love to. Gregory of nazianzus, echoing aristotle, describes his friendship with basil the great as two. Formerly a retreat director in gloucester, massachusetts. Friendship, aelred teaches, is both a gift from god and a creation of human effort. They aim to learn about friendship from a friend, and in the presence. Those familiar with aelred may be surprised that i intend to use. During his abbacy he built rievaulx into a place of spiritual welcome and physical prosperity, desiring to make it a mother of mercy to those in need. Pdf download aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship a new. Aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship john protevi.
Spiritual friendship is today the best known and perhaps most influential of the thirteen surviving works of aelred, abbot of the great english cistercian abbey of rievaulx from 11471167. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Spiritual friendship cistercian father series by aelred of rievaulx at. In the cross of christ there is death, and in the cross of christ there is life saturday, mar 31 2012.
Spiritual friendship, cistercian pubns 27 copy quote. In 1147 he became abbot of rievaulx, a post which he held until his death of kidney disease twenty years later at the age of 57. The creator god of genesis is johns god who is love. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx 323 ratings, 4. Friendship was a recurring theme in christian monasticism. As a result of a kiss, there arises in the mind a wonderful feeling of delight that awakens and binds together the love of them that kiss. Saint aelred of rievaulx, writer, historian, and outstanding cistercian abbot who influenced monasticism in medieval england, scotland, and france. Spiritual friendship is contrasted with carnal or worldly friendship in this work. The mirror of charitygives us a solid theology of the cistercian life. I address o good shepherd jesus, good, gentle, tender shepherd, behold a shepherd, poor and pitiful, a shepherd of the sheep indeed, but weak and clumsy and of little use, cries out to thee. Carnal friendship is a mutual harmony in vice which begins when lustful eyes allow into the mind images of beautiful bodies. Traditions of spiritual guidance aelred of rievaulx brendan callaghan 375 c istercian spirituality and christian friendship have each fea tured in traditions of spiritual guidance, 1 so for aelred to be treated in his own right might seem unnecessary. Ignatian spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to develop a friendship with god. Reading aelred of rievaulxs little treatise on spiritual friendship as an undergraduate was a lifechanging experience for me.
Spiritual friendship cistercian father series abebooks. Spiritual friendship cistercian fathers series 9780879072056 by aelred of rievaulx and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. And, the differences are plain to see as one reads. Jan 12, 2015 today is the feast day of aelred of rievaulx, often called the patron saint of friendship. True spiritual friendship, friendship that incarnates christ among us, perfects love. It is amazing to me how much has changed in regards to friendship since aelred of rievaulx wrote spiritual friendship. It starts as a dialogue between aelred and ivo, with a third, christ, present with them. Now this new edition opens up the riches of this spiritual masterpiece to a wide audience of contemporary readers who see the spiritual life not as a solitary enterprise, but one intimately connected to relationships.
The dialogue structure of spiritual friendship immediately shows the importance of others in the spiritual life. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. The spiritual status of samesex attraction governed paradoxically by a rule of celibacy is a fascinating concept. The idea suggests knocking on the door of a cell which will forever remain closed. No one can interrupt us now, no one can spoil our friendly conversation. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx is one of the all time classic books of devotion to christ.
Spiritual friendship, by aelred of rievaulx, alban books. Reevoh is a small village and civil parish in rye dale within the north york moors national park near helmsley in north yorkshire, england and is located in what was the inner court of rievaulx abbey, close to the river rye. Certain readings of the symposium would also assert that to ascend the sublimation ladder from physical to spiritual mean you have. Aelred, a 12thcentury cistercian abbot, insists that we need to test our beliefs about friendship with scripture. Click to read more about spiritual friendship by saint aelred of rievaulx. Spiritual friendship in 300 words spiritual friendship. Details are included in the civil parish of sproxton, north. Spiritual friendship cistercian studies series marsha l. Aelred of rievaulx of spiritual friendship love religious. Aelred of rievaulx of spiritual friendship free download as word doc.
Ignatian spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to. Of noble birth, aelred was reared at the court of king david i of scotland, whose life. Perhaps the flourishing of rievaulx was in part to do with how its abbot gave a christian witness to spiritual friendship. Close friends ground us and keep us from thinking that what we have is our own accomplishment. To have written so truthfully about friendship, he must have been a good friend to others.
His most famous work is called spiritual friendship both it and the mirror have been published in english by the cistercian press. Patricia carroll ocso draws our attention to aelred of rievaulx, a cistercian saint and spiritual writer who specialised in writing about friendship as an image of. Written in dialogue form, aelred of rievaulx offers wise counsel on many aspects of friendship. In his classical work spiritual friendship, aelred lists four requirements for being a spiritual friend. In short, monastic theology, like monastic friendship according to the exemplary account of aelred of rievaulx, is ideally a balanced activity of reason and will, profoundly christcentered, existentially grounded in both sensible and spiritual experience, and quintessentially expressed in. When these qualities are present, spiritual friends can entrust themselves to one another securely. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx 9780879079703. Jan 12, 2006 true spiritual friendship, friendship that incarnates christ among us, perfects love. Saint aelred of rievaulx 11101167 author of spiritual friendship. Medieval women, orion 1995 and with thanks to paul fogarty. My pro posed answer for a spirituality at the junction of modernity and post modernity is a spirituality of mercy. St aelred of rievaulx english province of the order of. Aelred of rievaulx asks us to carry on the everdynamic mission of the incarnation.