Saint Augustine used the analogy of a candle for the Trinity: the solid wax is the Father; it gives the candle its solidity and is also the fuel for the flame. The Son is the flame itself, bringing the solid substance into movement and transformation. The Spirit is the radiance of the light. In recent times, both within and beyond the confines of Christian theology, the insight has grown: the fulfilment of God’s glory comes when it is perceived by human beings.
This is one side; the other side is the glory that we create ourselves. Just as there is a wisdom that is bestowed on us as a gift, and a wisdom that we need to work at for ourselves, there is glory that we perceive and glory that we create. Something of this shines out of the Epiphany prayers, where we are called not only to bathe in the light of grace, but to develop our own light within our hearts. Ultimately, these are two aspects of one reality: glory perceived is glory bestowed; the glory we give is the result of the gift.
We hope that our readers will find the many different perspectives that this issue brings on such a central topic as enriching to read as we did when we were editing them.
Tom Ravetz, for the editorial team
The new issue will be published very soon. You can view the table of contents here.
I enjoy the articles by Tom Ravetz which I receive by mail. I should like to become a subscriber to Perspectives. I filled out het form, but when it came to payment the following message appeared:
PayPal cannot process this transaction because of a problem with the seller’s website. Please contact the seller directly to resolve this problem.
Could you solve the problem or indicate another way to become a subscriber?
Yours sincerely,
Thea van Veen, H.I. Ambacht, Netherlands
0031 78 177 14 110