Friendship, aelred teaches, is both a gift from god and a creation of human effort. Ignatian spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to. Jan 12, 2006 true spiritual friendship, friendship that incarnates christ among us, perfects love. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx 323 ratings, 4. Certain readings of the symposium would also assert that to ascend the sublimation ladder from physical to. For further reading, i recommend aelred squire op, aelred of rievaulx. Certain readings of the symposium would also assert that to ascend the sublimation ladder from physical to spiritual mean you have. Of noble birth, aelred was reared at the court of king david i of scotland, whose life. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx goodreads. 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.
Read book pdf online here 1589660234pdf download aelred of rievaulx spiritual. Spiritual friendship, by aelred of rievaulx, alban books. St aelred of rievaulx english province of the order of. The creator god of genesis is johns god who is love. Saint aelred of rievaulx, writer, historian, and outstanding cistercian abbot who influenced monasticism in medieval england, scotland, and france. I would be interested to listen to a recording of this work. Aelred, a 12thcentury cistercian abbot, insists that we need to test our beliefs about friendship with scripture. Jan 12, 2015 today is the feast day of aelred of rievaulx, often called the patron saint of friendship. Today is the feast day of aelred of rievaulx, often called the patron saint of friendship. The dialogue structure of spiritual friendship immediately shows the importance of others in the spiritual life. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx is one of the all time classic books of devotion to christ. Ignatian spirituality serves the contemporary world as people strive to develop a friendship with god. Here we are, you and i, and i hope that christ makes a third with us.
Aelred of rievaulx us from gods service, as well as deluding our understanding of spiritual friendship. 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. Reading aelred of rievaulxs little treatise on spiritual friendship as an undergraduate was a lifechanging experience for me. It is amazing to me how much has changed in regards to friendship since aelred of rievaulx wrote spiritual friendship.
What aelred discovered is that happiness does not exist without friendship. During this period, aelred wrote his best known work, spiritual friendship. To have written so truthfully about friendship, he must have been a good friend to others. And, the differences are plain to see as one reads.
In his writings on friendship, aelred distinguished three kinds. Spiritual friendship cistercian father series abebooks. True spiritual friendship, friendship that incarnates christ among us, perfects love. In the cross of christ there is death, and in the cross of christ there is life saturday, mar 31 2012. 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. Details are included in the civil parish of sproxton, north. Perhaps the flourishing of rievaulx was in part to do with how its abbot gave a christian witness to spiritual friendship. They aim to learn about friendship from a friend, and in the presence. Saint aelred of rievaulx cistercian monk britannica. Aelred of rievaulx of spiritual friendship free download as word doc. The spiritual status of samesex attraction governed paradoxically by a rule of celibacy is a fascinating concept.
The classic text with a spiritual commentary by dennis billy, c. Read book pdf online here download aelred of rievaulx spiritual. Friendship was a recurring theme in christian monasticism. The idea suggests knocking on the door of a cell which will forever remain closed. Ignatian spirituality is given through guided meditations, weekend, 8day, and 30day retreats based on the spiritual exercises of st. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Written in dialogue form, aelred of rievaulx offers wise counsel on many aspects of friendship. 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. 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. Aelred of rievaulx of spiritual friendship love religious.
Carnal friendship is a mutual harmony in vice which begins when lustful eyes allow into the mind images of beautiful bodies. Over the years aelred rose to considerable prominence in england, and his counsel was sought out by church. Click to read more about spiritual friendship by saint aelred of rievaulx. Spiritual friendship in 300 words spiritual friendship. It starts as a dialogue between aelred and ivo, with a third, christ, present with them. To explore this answer, i will draw extensively from the works of aelred of rievaulx.
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. 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. An excerpt from spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx aelred. 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. And aelred takes a further significant step when he moves from affirming that god is love to. 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. My pro posed answer for a spirituality at the junction of modernity and post modernity is a spirituality of mercy. Close friends ground us and keep us from thinking that what we have is our own accomplishment. 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. His most famous work is called spiritual friendship both it and the mirror have been published in english by the cistercian press.
Pdf download aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship a new. Robert lentz, ofm, that some dear friends of mine gave me at christmas this year. 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. Spiritual friendship by aelred of rievaulx 9780879079703. 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. Formerly a retreat director in gloucester, massachusetts. His feast day is celebrated by the cistercians on february 3. Spiritual friendship cistercian studies series marsha l. Jan 12, 2011 during this period, aelred wrote his best known work, spiritual friendship. The mirror of charitygives us a solid theology of the cistercian life.
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. Throughout his life, aelred took great joy in his friends and. 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. In his classical work spiritual friendship, aelred lists four requirements for being a spiritual friend. 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. Life in the medieval cloister, continuum publishing 2009 leyser, henrietta.
The treatise is a series of dialogues in which three monks join aelred to examine their ideas about. Spiritual friendship, cistercian pubns 27 copy quote. Aelred of rievaulx spiritual friendship john protevi. Aelred of rievaulx asks us to carry on the everdynamic mission of the incarnation. Spiritual friendship cistercian father series by aelred of rievaulx at.
Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Those familiar with aelred may be surprised that i intend to use. Medieval women, orion 1995 and with thanks to paul fogarty. 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. Spiritual friendship is contrasted with carnal or worldly friendship in this work. The population of the civil parish as taken at the 2011 census was less than 100.
When these qualities are present, spiritual friends can entrust themselves to one another securely. 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. It has been about 900 years, so i shouldnt be so surprised. Aelred of rievaulx possessed a personal charm which drew friends and disciples naturally to him.