The inner vision: some notes on mysticism

does descend momentarily into the region of metaphors, he touches only the most distant, the most subtle, and the least known. In his spiritual ascent, he rises into a world “beyond surprise and emotion, above reason and the virtues,” into which we can follow him only with great difficulty.

In The Book of the Spiritual Tabernacle—which contains an interpretation of the symbols of the Ark of the Covenant and the sacrifices of the ancient law—he shows an unexpected delight in artistic subtlety. For example, regarding the offering of the poor commanded by the Jewish Law, he says:

“They (the doves) shall stay near streams and beside clear waters, so that if any bird flies downward to seize them or do them any injury, they may recognize him by his reflection in the water and beware of him. The clear water represents Holy Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the mercy of God. We shall reflect ourselves in these when we are tempted, so that no one shall be able to hurt us. These doves have a loving nature, and young doves are often born to them; for whenever we think of sin with scorn and hatred, and of virtue with love—all for the glory of God and our own happiness—we give birth to young doves, which represent new virtues.”

He gives us a very singular and interesting interpretation of the spiritual flowers embroidered on the hangings of the tabernacle:

“On these four curtains of various colors, the Lord ordered Bezalel and Aholiab The biblical artisans chosen by God to build the Tabernacle (Exodus 31). to weave and embroider many ornaments with the needle. In the same way, our obedient will and our intelligence will place various ornaments of virtue upon these four colors.

“On the white color of innocence, we shall place red roses by constantly resisting all that is evil. Thus, we maintain purity and sacrifice our own nature; these red roses, with their sweet perfume, are very lovely against the white background.

“Again, upon innocence, we shall embroider sunflowers, by which we mean obedience. For when the sun rises in the east, the sunflower opens toward its rays and turns eagerly toward the sun until it sets in the west; at night, it closes, hides its colors, and awaits the sun's return. Even so, we will open our hearts through obedience toward the illumination of God's grace, and we will humbly and eagerly follow that grace as long as we feel the warmth of love. And when the light of grace ceases to awaken fresh emotions, and we feel the warmth of love only slightly or not at all, then it is night. At that time, we shall close our heart to everything that might tempt it; thus, we shall shut within ourselves the golden color of love, awaiting a new dawn with its new brightness and fresh emotions. In this way, we shall always preserve innocence in its original splendor.

“On the blue color, which is like the sky, we shall embroider birds with varied plumage; in other words, we shall