John Ruusbroec: The Spiritual Espousals, the Sparkling Stone and Other Works Book

Since an early age I was fascinated by marriage.

Marriage of course comes in all shapes and sizes. When I finally realized what Claude Levi-Strauss was up to in his Elementary Structure of Kinship, I realized that marriage is often considered from a sociological or anthropological point of view. In other words, marriage is first and foremost a form of social organization where "society" duplicates itself through children. Oddly enough, many men and women are confused and struggle with finding the right partner, when all that nature asks for is another human being. These remarks lead me to John Ruusbroec, the noted Flemish mystic who lived in the fourteenth century. His little book "The Spiritual Espousals" is the final word on marriage, not from the point of view of the natural or socially condition man and woman, but from the perspective of the Father's love for all His creatures.

Real marriage, holy matrimony, is best understood within the narrative provided by Ruusbroec in the introduction to his works. Christ is our true lover, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. In order to approach this momentous event, "SEE." Those who do not SEE the Lord are certainly troubled in spirit. In fact, if I may allow Ruusbroec to comment on those who do not SEE, "they are damned."

Okay, smartass, what are we suppose to SEE? since you like capital letters so much. I respond: SEE the coming of the Lord. He solicits you for your own good. Do you wish to perish in loneliness, isolation, duplicity, cunning? Do you know why Odysseus lives forever in Hell?

When you Go Out to SEE/sea, then you will SEE/sea the coming of the Lord and you are ready to Meet Him. This is called conversion. It has three steps: the active life, a life that everyone lives no matter his social status; the interior life, the life that few live because they understand the vanity of all human existence; and the contemplative life, those who are perfect in the Father's love.