Know Yourself
Written over the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi were two words: Γνῶθι σεαυτόν, – Know yourself. This short piece of wisdom, which the Greek philosopher Socrates is said to have claimed summed up his teaching, was of course known to Christian writers over the centuries. St Bernard refers to it in his commentary on the Song of Songs and wrote: “I take care to know myself … that I may also know what is wanting to me.” St Augustine, over seven centuries before, took it to his heart and deepened its meaning. In his time it was common for Christians to write the story of their conversion to Christianity in order to inspire one another in their faith. St Paulinus of Nola wrote to Augustine’s great friend, Alypius, to compose such an autobiography. He replied that he knows someone who could do that much better than him, and passed the request on to Augustine. From this request came one of the greatest spiritual texts outside the Scriptures in the history of the Church, St Augustine’s Confessions. The story outlines how he came to know himself and to know God. Addressing God directly he wrote: “By the Platonic books I was admonished to return into myself. With You as my guide I entered into my innermost citadel, and was given power to do so because You had become my helper. I entered and with my soul’s eye, such as it was, saw above that same eye of my soul the immutable Light higher than my mind …” About ten years before writing this, after he had been baptised by St Ambrose in Milan in 387, he composed his Soliloquies, a dialogue between himself and Reason. When Reason asks him to pray, Augustine responds: “God, always the same, let me know myself, let me know Thee” – “nouerim me, nouerim te”. In coming to know ourselves, returning into our souls through prayer, we come to know God and to know that we are made in His image and likeness. His we are, to Him we belong. This short prayer may be of help to enter into the depths of ourselves and the Holy Scriptures.
Jesus prays for His disciples who have come to know Him. They know that He is the Son of God, that He was sent by the Father, that He and the Father are One. “He who has seen me has seen the Father”, he tells Philip. It is into the depth of this Unity that the disciples, that we too are called. The Gospel of St John has two parts: The first twelve chapters is known as the ‘Book of Signs’. The miracles he performs, at the wedding feast of Cana, the healing of the blind man, raising Lazarus from the dead, show Him not just to be the Messiah. He has come to reveal the ultimate Truth about God, about Himself, that Truth is identical to Himself Who is the Way and the Life. Truth, Way, Life are identical to His Person. The signs point towards the New Life in Him, won for us through His suffering, death and resurrection. The second part of the Gospel, chapters 13 to 21, is known as the ‘Book of Glory’. Jesus’ signs are signs of His Glory. The disciples knew of the Glory of God in the OT Scriptures, namely His Divine presence and manifestation in the fire or smoke or cloud. But for St John Glory means the Divine Presence manifested in Jesus, especially from the Cross, an outpouring of Divine Glory, Divine Mercy on the world.
Mary to, must come to know herself. As with all of us, her faith journey unfolds throughout her life. She comes to know that she is not only the Mother of the Son of God, she is also Mother of the Church. Jesus tells her this from the Cross: “Woman behold your Son” and to St John “Behold your Mother”. This is a solemn moment, chosen especially by Jesus, and which therefore goes much deeper than a simple reading of the words might indicate. She is Mother in a deep communion of Love which mirrors that between herself and Jesus, even mirrors that between Jesus and the Father. St John, the Beloved Disciple, represents all of us. What Jesus said to him, he says to us.
The High Priestly prayer of Jesus, as this text of the Gospel is known, is a solemn moment before the Passion. Jesus, in total freedom of His Spirit, raises his eyes to Heaven and prays for His disciples. The Biblical exegete, Fr Marie Joseph Lagrange, identifies three reasons for this prayer: Firstly, the disciples are confirmed in their faith in the knowledge of the relationship between the Father and the Son. Knowing Jesus and the Father is eternal life. They belong to God and anything they ask of Him in the Name of Jesus will be granted to them, anything we may ask in His Name will be granted; secondly, as a consequence of this, Jesus is glorified in His disciples, because they have understood Him by faith. Jesus, who foresees their weakness, also foresees their glorious apostolate; finally, he prays for them because they will find themselves alone. But He will not leave them as orphans, because He will send them another helper, the Holy Spirit.
We enter the Communion of Love, realized in the Apostles, through our Baptism and Confirmation when we receive all the Gifts of the Holy Spirit into our soul. A good way to enter into an awareness of this unity which we have is to pray the prayer of St Augustine: Noverim me, noverim te”. May we know ourselves, the richness of the faith to which we are called, treasures beyond our imagination, so that we may know wisdom, the knowledge and the depths of God residing in our souls!