Gregory of Nyssa: The Life of Moses (Classics of Western Spirituality)

Great edition from an excellent publisher.

The spiritual journey is the oldest and longest journey known to humankind. It has fascinated and intrigued cultures down through the centuries. Inner spiritual experiences are found in all religious traditions around the world. In Judaism, we find reflections on the life of Moses and others, offering examples of personal spiritual growth (I discuss this in my review of Martini's, Through Moses to Jesus: The Way of the Paschal Mystery ). With the coming of the incarnate Christ, the Christian spiritual journey as we know it was born. As a result, this spiritual journey underwent an evolution during the early Christian era. Gradually, the spiritual masters defined and developed various stages of spiritual growth. It was Saint Gregory of Nyssa, a Father of the Eastern Church, who introduced the idea of progression along this journey. Accordingly, in the fourth century, he was hailed as a major spiritual thinker, one who developed his ideas by reading scripture from the context of his life experience. He introduced the idea of stages and viewed the spiritual life as a continual growth process. He based this concept on Paul's theme of moving forward. "Forgetting the past, I strain ahead for what is still to come" (Phil 3:13). In this work, The Life of Moses, by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, we read in the "Introduction" that "the theme that holds the whole work together [is] the idea of eternal progress." This progress is at the heart of Saint Gregory's spiritual doctrine. Many, including Saint Augustine, a Father of the Western Church, have examined his treatise and have found that his theological framework resembles "that progress" that people strive for, in what has come to be known as "The Spiritual Life." This includes the general points that must be recognized and accepted if one is to make progress spiritually in this world. First of all, we (humankind & individually) were made in the image [the mirror] of God. Secondly, by our fall into sin, this image was tarnished. Thirdly, Christ took upon himself our nature in order to restore us to our original nature. Lastly, through Christ, conversion restores our capacity to reflect the divine nature. The "Introduction" tells us that Saint Gregory sees that, in The Spiritual Life, "There is an incessant transformation into the likeness of God as man stretches out with the divine infinity; there is an ever-greater participation in God." Saint Gregory saw this as evident in the life of Moses. He had already been exposed to similar thoughts about this from the writings of Philo and Origen, who had "described the spiritual life as a succession of steps." In his work, Saint Gregory expresses the idea of infinite progress in the never-completed journey to God towards perfection. Following in Saint Gregory's footsteps, Saint Augustine developed this idea further by giving these steps/stages names and descriptions. The first stage was the "purgative way." During this stage a person's chief concern is his or her awareness of sin, sorrow for sin, and desire to make amends because God has been offended. The second stage was the "illuminative way." Its main feature is the enlightenment of a person's mind regarding the ways of God, and a clearer understanding of God's will in a person's life style, The third, and final stage, was the "unitive way." Here, there is a continual awareness of being in God's presence. The individual also, in a loving way; strives to conform his or her will to the will of God. Saint Augustine's analysis of the Spiritual Life and his classification of it into three stages were widely accepted and are still very popular today as a way of identifying and measuring individual progress along the journey. It has further been treated by many, especially people like Garrigou-LaGrange (in the Thomistic/Dominican tradition), and Saint John of the Cross, and Saint Teresa of Avila (in the Mystical/Carmelite tradition). Besides a better understanding of the Life of Moses, this book provides some early and unique insights into the Spiritual Life that we, like others, can benefit from.

Love St. Gregory. THE GOAT OF NYSSA BABBY

An absolutely fantastic book. It really opens you up to a different way to read Exodus and the scriptures in general. I would highly recommend it for casual readers, but also for people looking to do dep dives on Exodus or Bible Study generally.

Great book

Gregory of Nyssa's response to a faithful pupil is a treasure. If you are looking for deeper centering of your pursuit in being perfect and what that really means this is the book for you!

Purchased this to add to my Classics of Western Spirituality collection. When I get around to reading it, probably years from now, I'll probably review it then.

This book was recommended by a talk by David B. Hart; I'm glad I got it. Learning from the Greek fathers is enlightening.

St. Gregory of Nyssa is a somewhat underappreciated Father. Having been one of the Cappadocians, along with St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory the Theologian, he oftentimes stands in the shadows of his brother (Basil) and friend (Gregory). However recent scholarship has had a growing interest in St. Gregory of Nyssa and for good reason. He is able to draw together the Biblical narrative to always 'look deeper' and reveal insights that you may not have realized were there. This is a phenomenal read and a superb translation that all should try to get to.

Must read. So enlightening.

A must have for the Christian library. Insight into Moses’ life is insight into yours.

I really enjoyed this book as it widened my perceptions on the great Israelite Moses and his works in new unexplored directions. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, the great Cappadocian father, presents a wonderful and enlightening hermeneutical exegesis on the acts of God through the prophet Moses. I found this text to be best read spiritually as it really gave the Word, in my mind, an avenue to higher levels of understanding and has prepared me to read and interpret scripture more vigorously and with more conviction. An excellent read for any scriptural treasure hunters.