I’m a Soul, Man; I’m a Soul-Man -part 2

On Saturday, I volunteered at the Parkhill Carnegie Gallery.  This is the former Parkhill Carnegie Library Gallery which was saved from a slow decline and demise by a group of volunteers - the Friends of the Carnegie Library.  It was renovated and turned into a gallery for local artists and a performance space.

In any case, I volunteered to hold down the fort – so to speak – as it was open to the public.  I have lots of time on my hands and was reading The School of Charity, a wonderful little meditation on the Christian Creed, by Evelyn Underhill.  Underhill was an engaging writer whose works include theology, spirituality, mysticism, and novels.  In addition, she was well known as a retreat leader and Spiritual Director.  In any case, I picked up this little book to pass the time at the Gallery and am very glad I did.  Perhaps it chose me rather than me choosing it. 

As I delved into the book, what grabbed my attention was the references to ‘soul’.  I had written about the soul last week and wasn’t planning to follow up with that but I took this to be a message and decided that I could see if I could get a handle on what Underhill says about the soul in this book. The first thing is that, although Underhill does refer to the soul quite a few times, she does not define it – at least in this work.  Even though she sees people as creatures of God, Underhill, quite rightly, sees people as being in great need of help.  God delivers us from “the imbecilities of religious self-love and self-assurance; and sink(s) our little souls in the great life of the race”.  Here, soul seems to be used as an essence of who we are.  This is followed up with a similar use when Underhill states, “Prayer is the give and take between the little souls of men and that three-fold Reality (God).” 

Although the soul of people is limited and small, Underhill holds that it can enlarge.  She opens her chapter entitled The World To Come with a quote from another author, Elizabeth Leseur, ‘I will ask of God such an enlargement of soul that I may love him with ardour, serve him with joy, and transmit his radiance to the world.”  For this to happen, the soul must be nourished.  Underhill recommends doing this through meditation on the Christian experience, “This is why meditation on the Christian mysteries, chewing the cud of the Gospels, is so nourishing to the soul, and so inexhaustible as a basis for prayer.”

Underhill’s belief in the importance of prayer in the soul’s growth is reinforced a little later and she notes that it is gradual and unseen to us, “This should make us realize how deeply hidden, how gradual and unseen by us, the soul’s growth in the life of prayer is likely to be.”  We will be supported in this effort by the Spirit of Divine Love, “our real situation as Christian souls – little spirits supported by the infinite Spirit of Divine Love”. 

In all this, the soul is calling out to us for connection with the Divine, “In the same way, the deep mysteries of the Being of God and the call of the soul cannot be seen by us, until they have passed through the human medium, a human life.” 

In all this, Underhill is agreeing with the understanding of the soul as an immortal part of our being which is seeking the Divine and through prayer may grow in relationship with the Source of our being.  It may be unseen and hidden; nevertheless, it is the reality of our existence and part of who we are. 

May you be blessed with souls that are nourished and grow on your journey.