On the Life and Mystical Theology of Jean Gerson (1363-1429)

Jean Gerson has been described by Schaff as "the most attractive and the most influential theological leader of the first half of the fifteenth century" ¹ . Tentler regards him as "the greatest voice in the cure of souls" ² . Ozment sees in him a "rich harvest of medieval thought" ³ . And Connolly suggests, "It would be difficult to find anywhere ideas that better sum up the whole tradition of Christian Spirituality than what we find in the pages that [Gerson] wrote." ⁴ Although the sum of ideas and works of Gerson lie well beyond the scope of this paper, a brief overview of his life and work within the church will be attempted, with special emphasis being given to his development of Mystical Theology.

Biography

Jean Gerson was born on December 14, 1363, as Jean Charlier in the village of Gerson-les-Barbey from which he later took his name. ⁵ His father, Arnould le Charlier was a tenant on the land of the Benedictine priory of Rethel and supported his wife and children, five boys and seven girls by farming. All of Gerson's survivng (three) brothers eventually became monks, and only one of the surviving (six) sisters married, the rest remaining at home as a type of informal pious community under the spiritual direction of Gerson, the eldest brother by means of letters and tracts.

At age fourteen, after initial formal training at the priory and then the Abbey of Saint-Remy in Rheims, Gerson went on to Paris to study at the university, and was enrolled as a member of the College of Navarre. It was here that he met a fellow student, Nicholas de Clamanges, who, together with one of his instructors, Pierre d'Ailly, would remain in close friendship with Gerson for many years. In 1381, Gerson received a bachelors of art and began theological instruction, receiving in 1387 a bachelor of theology. In 1392 he was awarded the licentiate in theology and two years later the doctorate. Gerson had the honor of serving as proctor of the French nation from 1383-4, and later rose to prominence as a member of the university's embassy which was sent to Avignon to present the pope with the university's case in favor of the condemnation of Dominican Jean de Monzon, who had argued against the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

By the 1390s, Gerson had also established himself as a gifted preacher. The earliest extant writing of Gerson is his sermon Quaerite dominum , which he preached before the king and his court on Ash Wednesday, 1389. ⁶ In 1395 Gerson succeeded d'Ailly as chancellor of the university of Paris, an office he would hold until his death on July 12, 1429. ⁷

The Papal Schism

In February of 1415, Gerson left for Constance as a delegate of the king, the university and the ecclesiastical province of Sens, and his subsequent leadership in the Council of Constance is well known. When Pope John XXIII suddenly left the Council, it was Gerson's sermon Ambulate which allowed for a calm continuation of the proceedings. Gerson exhibited a great concern and zeal for a healing of the papal schism. His premise was that the peace of the Church is an essential condition to the fulfillment of its mission. ⁸ In an earlier sermon preached in 1404 at Tarascon before Benedict XIII and the duke of Orleans, Gerson outlined his call for a general council. Schaff summarizes the sermon thus, "Princes and prelates, he declared, both owe obedience to the law. The end for which the Church was constituted is the peace and well-being of men. All Church authority is established to subserve the interests of peace, Peace is so great a boon that all should be ready to renounce dignities and position for it. Did not Christ suffer shame? Better for a while to be without a pope than that the Church should observe the canons and not have peace, for there can be salvation where there is no pope". ⁹

Gerson's most famous tract dealing with the schism and the Church's right to remove a pope was written during the Council of Pisa (1409). De auferibilitate papae ab ecclesia [On the Removal of a Pope] sets forth the view that Christ alone is the head of the Church and that this monarchical constitution is unchangeable. All Church officers are appointed for the Church's welfare and, when the pope impedes its welfare, it may remove him. It may do this through a general council, meeting by general consent and without papal consent. This council acts under the immediate authority of Christ and His laws, and may depose a pope by virtue of the power of the keys which is given not only to one but to the body. ¹⁰

Southern sees Gerson's sermon before the king of France in 1410 as "the noblest expression of [the] hopes and plans" for a healing of the schism between East and West. ¹¹ Gerson sought to accomodate the Greeks and does so to "the furthest limit to which a combination of liberality and orthodoxy in the West could go". ¹² In this sermon Gerson declared that no papal decision even in a General Council is binding except on matters directly affecting the truth of the Faith and the Gospel, and that all those matters of local usage which had caused trouble such as the use of leavened bread in the Mass, the marriage of priests, the differing practices regarding confession, etc., lay outside the scope of papal authority. But just as unity seemed to be within grasp, the Greek pope died and the French king turned his attentions to England, and the entire conciliar movement weakened and fragmented.

It was also during the Council of Constance that Gerson took an active part in the condemnation of John Huss. Like Wyclif, John Huss believed that no council nor individual pope could claim a special sanctity or authority based on mere historic precedent, tradition, or title, since such "criteria" do not address the necessity for the personal morality and regeneration of any individual who seeks to have authority within the Church. No reprobate men could hold proper authority over others, and the only way of discerning the elect from the reprobate was through observation of their life and moral conduct. Although Gerson pronounced nineteen errors found in Huss' works as "heretical", he singled out this denial of authority as the most erroneous, seeing it as fatal to both kingdoms and churches. He warns, "The government of the world cannot be based on predestination or love, things which remain uncertain and insecure in this life, but must rest on established ecclesiastical and civil laws". ¹³ John Huss was burned at the stake on July 6, 1415.

Theological Reform

Gerson's concern for the peace and well-being of the Church also embraced the call for theological reform. The increasing role of theological speculation and innovation within the university was resulting in more and more men graduating with their degrees to whom the teachings of even such stellar figures as Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventura were unfamiliar. ¹⁴ Instead, students rallied blindly behind this or that theologian, most of whom Gerson believed set up an idea of knowledge as its own reward. ¹⁵ Gerson was certainly not against learning, but could not ignore the Church's dire need for a return to humble devotion to a personal Lord, a devotion which many of the great Fathers has exhibited. Gerson writes, "It is preferable to have filial love directed towards God, than to have a keen intellect, but cold and illuminated only by study". ¹⁶ Gerson saw the need to supplant the cult of the intellect with the truest wisdom which is the knowledge of self and the Love of God. ¹⁷

With this goal in mind, Gerson began lecturing in 1394 on the Spiritual Life of the Soul [Liber de vita spiritali animae] ¹⁸. Through these lectures, Gerson discussed with his students such topics as the life and death of the soul, its weaknesses and its failings, the nature and cause of sin, and of what practical value such understanding might have. Gerson also discussed the matter of temptation, and concluded with his own theory on the spiritual life. This was certainly a marked departure from the current methods at use in the university, but Gerson persisted on the conviction that such a "mystical theology" would inspire his students and future leaders of the Church with a love for a personal God rather than a love for worldly gain. Other lectures soon followed, including On Impulses, On the Desire of the Bishopric, On the Manner of Life of the Carthusians and On the Distinction Between True and False Visions . ¹⁹ Pascoe states, "the reform of theology proposed by Gerson early in his career... has as its goal the education of a theologian such as is necessary for the true reform of the church. This goal is achieved by freeing the theologian from vain and curious speculation and directing him to the true content of the Scriptures." ²⁰

Gerson also felt a deep concern for the laity as well as the student. Brown writes, "He wanted the students of the theology faculty not only to know about mysticism but also to embrace it, to follow the mystical way in their own lives. Beyond that, he wanted them to be able to teach and preach about it and so lead the laity to the full spiritual life, to the slopes and perhaps even the heights of the mountain of contemplation." ²¹ Gerson himself wrote tracts and preached sermons in the vernacular with the aim of addressing the laity. His two vernacular tracts, La Montaigne de contemplation and La Mendicit`e spirituelle (1400-1) both address the laity directly regarding mysticism and the way to reach it. Again, Brown writes, "it is clear that [Gerson] was prompted by a sincere pastoral concern and zeal to get the laity to practice an interior religion and to come as close to God as possible, under proper guidance, of course - hence his lectures and treatises for theologians." ²² Gerson approached the reformation of theology as the key to reforming the Church, and therefore emphasized to his students the superiority of mystical theology over speculative theology.

Gerson outlines seven differences between mystical and speculative theology ²³ . The first and most fundamental difference is that each derives its information from different sources or subjects, with speculative theology being located in the intellective power and mystical theology being grounded in the affective. Scholastics looked to the "outward effects" of the Bible, church history and theological commentaries, whereas the mystical theologians looked to the records of God's "internal affects", namely, in evidence of divine presence in the recorded history and tradition of the heart. ²⁴ A second difference is found in speculative theology's orientation toward finding its object in the "true", and mystical theology's in the "good". ²⁵ A third difference is that in mystical theology, understanding may rise above itself, since, following the pes amoris , the pes cognitionis is able to enter heights otherwise unattainable, much as fire causes water to boil over. A fourth difference is seen in the fact that mystical theology is a more democratic way. Gerson states that "even young girls and simple people [idiotae] can become proficient in mystical theology, since logical and metaphysical acumen is not requisite to its attainment." ²⁶ One of the twelve considerations of Gerson's Elucidation stresses the greater ease with which simple uneducated people [simplices idiotae] reach mystical theology than do those learned in scholastic theology due to the fact that the formers' faith is not disturbed by contrary opinions which they have not heard and therefore need not think about, but instead are more humble and pay more attention to their salvation in fear and trembling.  ²⁷ A fifth difference results from mystical theology's ability to exist complete in itself without the complementary aid of speculative theology, whereas the reverse is never possible. Sixthly, speculative theology is prone toward deception and abuse due to a certain neutrality, while mystical theology holds to its objective so firmly that only external coercion can distract it from its true end. ²⁸ And finally. Gerson presented mystical theology as intrinsically more self-fulfilling, since love gave both the heart and the mind a satisfaction beyond any that the mere technical knowledge of scholastic theologians could provide. ²⁹ Mystical theology allows for an attainment and stabilization of one's relation with God, whereas speculative theology alone leaves one restless and unsettled. ³⁰

Gerson desired to recapture the unity of theology and spirituality which he believed existed in the days of the church fathers and in the lives and work of his two personal models, Bernard of Clairvaux and Bonaventura. Gerson traced the problem of the theologians of his day to "useless, unedifying, and insubstantial teachings" which not only asked questions whose answers were far beyond the scope of human reason, but which also led other scholars to believe that theologians preferred the "utterly incredible and absurd" to the Bible and moral theology. Gerson's proposed remedy was two-fold: first, he would require students to read less of book One of Lombard's Sentences , where the nature of God is dealt with, and instead give more attention to book Two through Four where topics relating to Jesus, the church, the sacraments and the life to come were discussed. ³¹ Gerson felt that this change of focus would result in less argument and speculation. Secondly, he would forbid discussion of sophistical questions and any topics declared suspect and scandalous by the church. ³²

For the faculty and student, Gerson suggested that the goal of curriculum and study should be sapida scientia , applicable and experiential knowledge. Such knowledge moves the heart toward love and charity as well as enlightens the mind. Such a curriculum would emphasize moral theology and preaching as much as the study of doctrine, while concentrating on church figures who exhibited similar concerns, such as Bonaventura, Aquinas, Durandus of St. Pourcain, and Henry of Ghent. ³³ Gerson believed that since recent Ockhamist and Scotist writings merely confused purely logical questions with the true object of theology, they should be avoided all together. In the area of sacred history, Gerson recommended the works of Eusebius and Cassiodorus, the lives of the church fathers, Augustine's Confessions , and the legends of the saints. In the field of "mystical expositions of the Sacred Scripture" he proposed Gregory's Moralia in Job and Pastoral Rules , Bernard's sermons on the Song of Songs, Richard of St. Victor's writing on contemplation, and the works of William of Paris. He also suggested Augustine's City of God and and the works of Paulus Orosius, Jerome, and Lactantius. ³⁴

Gerson's mystical theology and the proposed curriculum retained scholastic disputation, yet only to the degree "as is fitting in the quest for truth". ³⁵ In mystical theology, the intellect is still operative and useful, but must be made subordinate to the affective powers of the soul. And although the Dionysian "via negativa" inspired Gerson in the development of his own magisterial mystical treatise ³⁶, he disagrees with Dionysius regarding the degree to which the "negative way" implies a forfeiture of a positive, experiential knowledge of God. Gerson asks, "Who would say that mystical theology pursues only a negative way, relinquishing all positive knowledge and experience of God?" ³⁷

Instead, mystical theology seeks to know God in a direct and immediate awareness, which leaves the individual with an experiential knowledge of God, a knowledge which is greater than any mental exercise may offer. Ozment writes, "the arguments for the superiority, or precisely stated, the greater depth and comprehensiveness, of mystical theology should not be interpreted as a minimization of the importance of the intellective powers and scientia . For fundamental to Gerson's project of a mystical theology is his conviction of the mutually supporting relation between devotio and scientia . This conviction reflects one of the strongest, clearest, most common sensical, and yet most overlooked motifs in Gerson's mystical theology, viz., the naturally correlative and reciprocal character and operation of the affective and intellective powers." ³⁸

Anthropology

In the sermon A deo exivit [He has gone forth from God], Gerson considers the nature of the soul in its pre-created and created status. Regarding the pre-created status of the soul, Gerson disagrees with what he considers the Manichaean understanding of John 1:3-4 ("what has been created was [prior to its creation] life in God") as implying a real and essential identity [ identitas realis et essentialis ] between the Creator and the created. Instead, Gerson presupposes a distinction between divine essence and divine will and understanding, whereby he is able to locate pre-created reality in God's cognitive and volitional creative powers, not in His essence. Gerson writes, "Life was [in God] in the sense of an ideational, vivific exemplar or archetypal concept [i.e., in the divine intelligence] and through the most efficacious power to create [i.e. in the divine will]. [This form of preexistence] is far more excellent and ineffable than [the way in which] a house which is to be built or an image which is to be painted 'exists' and in its fashion 'lives' in the mind of the craftsman." ³⁹ It therefore follows that in its created status, the soul is esse realis and is quite other than its pre-creaturely esse idealis . In this way, Gerson sets his anthropology and mystical theology apart from the Germanic mystics such as Eckhart who view the mystical experience as the soul's return to itself as God's essence. Rather than approaching God on the basis of being one in essence, Gerson views the mystical experience of the soul as being one of returning to God "through knowledge and love". ⁴⁰

In De mystica theologia speculativa , Gerson presents the soul as having three cognitive and three affective powers in a paralleled, hierarchical arrangement. Under Cognitive [ Vires Cognitivae ] there are intelligentia simplex, ratio , and sensualitas in descending order. Under Affective [ Vires Affectivae ] there are synderesis, appetitus rationalis and appetitus sensualis in likewise descending order. Gerson defines the three powers of the Vires Cognitivae as follows. Intelligentia simplex [pure intelligence] is "the cognitive power of the soul which recieves a certain natural light immediately from God, in and through which first principles, with the apprehension of the terms, are known to be true and unquestionably certain." ⁴¹ Gerson points out that this reality has been described by a variety of names including mind, the highest heaven, spirit, the light of intelligence, the shadow of angelic understanding, divine light in which truth immutably shines, and the spark or peak of reason.

Ratio [reason] is "a cognitive power of the soul which deduces conclusions from premisses, elects nonsensory from sensory data and abstracts from quiddities, requiring no [physical] organ for its operation." ⁴² Whereas the intelligentia simplex is concerned solely with the reception of pure and simple knowledge from the light of God, the ratio attends to deductions and conclusions based upon data received through both sensory experience and intelligentia simplex . ⁴³ Sensualitas [sensibility] is a "power of the soul which uses a corporeal organ, as much outwardly as inwardly, in order to know things which, either in themselves or accidentally, are sensible." ⁴⁴ Other names for this reality include soul, animality, the earthly or lowest heaven, and the shadow of reason. Each of these cognitive powers has its corresponding affective power, which is seen in the fact that the soul spontaneously and affectively either applauds or takes offense at the objects presented to it by the cognitive powers. ⁴⁵

Gerson defines the three Vires Affectivae as follows. The synderesis is "an appetitive power of the soul which receives a certain natural inclination to good immediately from God, through which it is led to follow a good motion presented to it from the apprehension of pure intelligence." ⁴⁶ Just as pure intelligence is related to first and certain truths from God, so the synderesis is related to final good. Other names by which this reality is described are practical habit of principles, the spark of intelligence, a virginal part of the soul, a natural stimulus to do good, the peak of the mind, an indelible instinct, and the first heaven among the affective powers.

Appetitus rationalis [rational desire] is "the affective power of the soul adapted so as to be moved immediately by the cognitive apprehension of reason." ⁴⁷ When the rational desire is considered in regard to what is possible and impossible it is called will [ voluntas ], and in regard to acts which are self-elected, freedom [ libertas ]. When considered in regard to objects irrespective of their finality or possibility, it is described as choice [ electio ] or elective desire [ appetitus electivus ], and in regard to its directing acts of the soul, a sovereign or executive desire [ appetitus dominativus vel executivus ]. When it is viewed as the will in pursuance of what is chosen, it is called resolution [ propositio ], and as the inclination to such pursuance, conscience [ conscientia ]. ⁴⁸ And finally, the appetitus sensualis [sensory desire] is the "appetitive power of the soul adapted to be moved immediately by sensory apprehension alone." ⁴⁹

Regarding Gerson's definitions, Ozment observes, "In his definitions of the affective powers, we have seen Gerson make it quite clear that their operation is contingent upon and conditioned by ( ab and ex ) the activity and data of the intellective powers. The two powers are paralleled in their operation, but it is with the intellective powers that the initiative lies." He continues, "the single most decisive factor for an adequate understanding of the nature of Gerson's mystical theology and his interpretation of the unio mystica , is... that the operations of the two powers of the soul are not only in parallel relationship, but in a correlative and reciprocal relationship. This is an important emphasis. It will mean that the affective as well as the intellective powers can initiate movements which naturally evoke a reaction from the other set of powers." ⁵⁰ Gerson explains, "Every effect, especially immanent effect, produced by this rational nature is said to acquire some light either in the form of clarity in the cognitive powers or of heat in the affective powers, or to acquire both simultaneously . For it is difficult to find a cognition which is not formally or virtually a certain affect, just as it seems quite impossible to find an affect which is not a certain experiential knowledge. Indeed, neither power causes its effect without the other, since an affective power concurs in the emergence of a cognition just as a cognitive power concurs in the generation of an affect." ⁵¹

This reciprocal relationship between the powers finds its significance in the fact that fallen man, post peccatum Adae has been critically handicapped due to the corruption of sin. Before the fall of Adam, his eye of contemplation ⁵² beheld an undistracted view from the top of the mountain of God and was the most lively, pure, and efficacious of all the powers of the soul in its operation. Now, however, due to the real consequence of sin, the ability of pure intelligence to contemplate is practically totally extinct, just as the rational eye is almost totally blind, and the sensitive eye almost totally corrupt. ⁵³ It is due to this fact that Gerson doubts greatly whether the theologian through reason and speculation alone will ever achieve a true experiential knowledge of God. Since the depravity of man has all but erased the intellective powers' original abilities to commune and know God, Gerson instructs us to turn our attention instead to the affective powers in the soul. If Gerson's understanding of the soul's ability to approach God through both knowledge and love and the reciprocal relationship of the cognitive and affective powers are correct, then one may spurn the intellective on to higher things through the ability of the affective powers to approach God through love. Gerson does not consider the effects of sin to be as profound in the affective as they are in the in the intellective powers. ⁵⁴ Therefore, the greater purity of the affective powers within fallen man may aid and contribute to a greater fulfillment of the intellective powers. In this way, the unio mystica , though driven by the affective powers of the soul, also makes use of the intellective powers in their heightened state.

The Mountain of Contemplation

Having followed Gerson thus far, we may rightly ask in what manner do we embark on this mystical theology toward the unio mystica? Gerson answers this question in a tract written to his sisters in 1397 entitled The Mountain of Contemplation [La Montaigne de contemplation] through which he sought to encourage the mystical life among the laity. The tract is made up of forty-five short chapters and contains a prologue where Gerson makes a distinction between two tendencies in mysticism, the speculative and the affective. He concludes that while speculation may indeed lead some mystics to the top of the mountain of contemplation, they are rare and their experiences even rarer. In place of lofty speculation, humility, above all, is the virtue which is necessary for the ascent.

This humility is, in fact, repentance, a theme which Gerson emphasizes very strongly throughout his entire corpus. The students must first repent from pride in his own knowledge and status and approach God humbly if he is to embark into mystical theology. Gerson explains, "the clear and savory understanding of those things which are believed in the gospel is called mystical theology, and it is to be acquired more through penitence than through human investigation alone." ⁵⁵ Gerson also saw repentance as a prerequisite to a correct understanding of the truths of Scripture. ⁵⁶ Pascoe describes the function of repentance in relation to mystical theology as follows. "The reformation of the cognitive and affective powers of the soul is attained through poenitentia . Poenitentia rescues man from the shadowy and distorted world of sin. Poenitentia , moreover, breaks the iron chain formed by the passions and shatters the bonds of sin that hold the soul captive. Man, therefore, is rescued from the darkness of sin through the purifying activity of poenitentia upon his cognitive and affective powers. Repentance cleanses, heals, and enlightens the eyes of reason." ⁵⁷

The first task therefore, in approaching the mountain of contemplation, is a deep sense of humility and a repentance of the love for worldly things. Such misdirected loved is described by Gerson as the glue which prevents the soul from spreading its wings. Yet, the only way in which one can be released from love of the world is through the grace of God. It is God who initiates the pilgrims ascent, and the means through which God may achieve this are many. He can work directly, through feelings of sweetness, sober joy, or peace, or can give us an enlargement of thought, a taste, or a sound without sound. He can attract us indirectly by means of Scripture, good books, sermons, or by severe tribulations. ⁵⁸ Being so attracted by God, the individual must forsake his or her love for the world and cling to God as the source of life and love. It is at this point that the individual begins the three-tiered ascent up the mountain of contemplation.

The three tiers which Gerson suggests in The Mountain of Contemplation are repentance, solitude and silence, and perseverance. These three are not traversed quickly, but must be carried out with a daily diligence and devotion. The first step of repentance is where the individual develops a detachment from the love of the world and clings increasingly to the Love of God. Gerson explains, "For one to be so taken with the Love of God that he will be indifferent to the censures and the persecutions that his fellow-men rouse against him, for one to be so taken with the thought of God that all else would grow pale and insipid, - that is to have the devotion of a true contemplative." ⁵⁹ But as the soul begins and continues its renunciation of its love for the world, it finds that this is no easy feat, but one which involves a struggle with passions, former ways of life and relationships. Many may attempt this trek only to lapse back into their former lifestyles. But the soul with strong resolution and perseverance will prevail through this duel between the love of the world and the Love of God.

The second tier, solitude and silence, refers to that stage in which the soul, having broken with the world, must now find spiritual pleasure. Gerson compares the soul at this stage to a seedling having been uprooted from its original bed, now being transplanted into a better bed. This transplantation takes place through inner solitude whereby the soul is slowly fed by the Love of God rather than through the worldly desires. Gerson admits that this inner solitude may come more easily if there is also an external solitude and silence, but such external separation does not guarantee inner solitude. Each person must find the place and manner which best suits his or her own pursuit of solitude. One may choose the woods, church, his home, the cloister, etc.. In the place that is chosen, one must, with the help of God's grace, achieve unity and simplicity of heart, through which one is truly with God. This elevation of the soul out of the world and to God is brought about by strong and holy thought, by ardent love. This thought or this love is so strong that it can make all other operations of the soul, all phantasms cease. ⁶⁰ Gerson likens this to the mathematician, student or craftsman so absorbed in their work that they see and hear nothing that is going on around them. The third tier, perseverance, is the increasing effort of the individual to maintain and deepen the soul's gaze upon God, while constantly avoiding a regression to a love of the world.

Gerson is very hesitant to describe or outline the unio mystica , believing it is best understood by one's own personal experience. He does, however, describe in what manner the soul's powers contribute to one's ascent. He sees the Love of God to which the individual has devoted himself as operating within the affective powers of the soul to such a degree that the intellective powers are likewise enlightened and the individual attains an experiential knowledge of God. In this way, Gerson can claim that "Love itself is a knowing". ⁶¹ Love opens the door of experiential knowledge of God which would otherwise remained locked to speculation alone. Gerson does not see cognition standing outside this door of experiential knowledge, but entering in along side the affective powers. Brown describes the unio mystica by stating, "Gerson makes it clear that this is a transforming union. The soul is so changed in the cinders of humility and the fierce furnace of charity that it becomes like a beautiful, clear, clean and pure glass and takes the image which the Holy Spirit wishes to give it, the image of God, to whom the soul is joined. The soul is now a beautiful mirror, clear and polished to reflect ( representer ) the Deity. For this hour the soul forgets everything else." ⁶²

Gerson is also hesitant to dictate to others a specific method of meditation to employ during solitude, but rather, allows each person to choose the method appropriate for oneself. Gerson notes that some may, like St. Bernard, meditate upon the life of Christ, or may devote themselves to the remembrance of the Passion as did the author of De stimulo amoris . Another method which he personally found helpful and practised, which had been taught him by a "pious old woman" is outlined in his De mendicitate spirituali . Gerson found it beneficial to see himself as a beggar, appearing before Christ and the Saints through devout prayer to ask their aid and alms, in light of approaching Death and Judgment. In this tract Gerson emphasizes the role of devout affection within prayer, and the manner in which this aids the individual in approaching God, through the help of God's grace. But, regardless of the individual's choice of (orthodox) meditation methodology, one was to keep in mind the goal of meditation, which Gerson defined as, "the vigorous effort of the heart to come upon new sources of piety." ⁶³

Conclusion

Although Gerson's life and work has been only briefly touched upon in these pages, it should be clear to the reader that Gerson had a clear and zealous desire to bring the theological faculty, students and laity of his day into a more personal and meaningful relationship with the God who has bestowed mankind with both reason and love. Gerson did not isolate himself in his books and writings, but actively sought to engage students and laity in manners which would be easily understood and remembered. Any contemporary student of theology will quickly identify with Gerson's concern over the misdirection of theology and intellective endeavours into often trivialities and tertiary speculations. His proposed curriculum, consisting of the lives and works of some of the greatest figures in church history, remains to this day a call to experience of the foundation and heart of our religion. Yet, as Gerson points out repeatedly throughout his corpus, it is only the one who repents and embarks on mystical theology who can truly make use of his curriculum, his writings, and who in the end may have any significant role in the reform of the church. Gerson did not seek to use mystical theology as the dividing line between the elect and reprobate, nor should it ever be so used. Its use lies only in its availability to any and all who wish to move away from the hold which the world has on one's own soul, and strive, whether successfully or not, after the Love of God and the peace which follows.

I found Gerson to be personally challenging and quite enlightening. After seven years as a student of theology, I can only appreciate Gerson's critique and suggestion for reform. I find it amazing and disappointing that his works exists nowhere in English, save for three or four small portions translated only to support this or that theory regarding Gerson's view. It is also notable that the works which he recommends have not yet been recommended to me by any of the theological faculty whom I have encountered during my years of study. It will be my personal project for the summer to read his proposed curriculum, with the hope of understanding the value of these works, as well as generating the movement of the heart toward the realities I have learned to comprehend.

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