Through the mouth of wisdom, bliss declared: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs." Angels, saints, and all that has never been born must be silent when the eternal wisdom of the Father speaks, for all the wisdom of angels and all creatures is but pure nothingness compared to the unfathomable wisdom of God.
This wisdom has said: "Blessed are the poor."
Now, there are two kinds of poverty. External poverty, which is good and highly commendable when embraced voluntarily out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ, as He Himself assumed it on earth. But, according to the words of our Lord, there is another poverty—an inner poverty—since He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." I implore you to be such poor ones so that you may understand this discourse, for I tell you in the name of eternal truth: unless you become like this truth, you will not be able to understand me. Some have asked me about true poverty and what is meant by a poor man. I will now answer them.
Bishop Albert said, "A poor man is one who cannot be satisfied with all the things that God has ever created," and that is well said. But we go even further and place poverty on a much higher level. A poor man is one who wants nothing, knows nothing, and possesses nothing. I will speak of these three points and implore you, for the love of God, to try to understand this truth, if it is possible for you. But if you do not understand it, do not be troubled, for I will speak of an aspect of truth that very few, even among the profound, are able to comprehend.
We will first say that a poor man is one who wants nothing. Many people do not truly understand this concept. These are those who devote themselves to penances and outward practices, performances that they nevertheless regard as significant, though they are merely self-glorifying. May God have pity on them for knowing so little of divine truth! They are deemed holy based on outward appearances, but inwardly they are as donkeys who do not grasp the true meaning of divine truth. These people indeed say that a poor man is one who wants nothing, but according to their interpretation, a man should strive to have no personal will and endeavor to fulfill the will of God. These are well-meaning people, and we are ready to praise them. God, in His mercy, will likely grant them the kingdom of heaven. But I say, by divine truth, that these people are not, even remotely, truly poor. They appear eminent in the eyes of those who know nothing better, yet they are donkeys who understand nothing of divine truth. Their good intentions may earn them the kingdom of heaven, but of the poverty we now wish to speak of, they know nothing.
If one were to ask me what is meant by a poor man who wants nothing, I would answer: as long as a man still wants something—even if it is to fulfill the dear will of God—he does not possess the poverty we are speaking of.
Such a man still has a will: to fulfill God's will, which is not true poverty. For true poverty is free from all personal will, and to live it, a man must take hold of himself as he was when he was not. I tell you, by eternal truth: as long as you still thirst to fulfill the will of God and desire the eternity of God, you are not truly poor, for only the one who wants nothing and desires nothing is truly poor.
When I was in my own cause, I had no God and was the cause of myself. At that point, I wanted nothing, desired nothing, for I was a free being and knew myself according to the truth I enjoyed. There, I wanted myself and nothing else, for what I wanted, I was, and what I was, I wanted. I was free of God and all things. But when by my free will I assumed my created nature, then God appeared, for before creatures existed, God was not God; He was what He was. But when creatures came to be, God was no longer God in Himself, but God in creatures. Now, we say that God, as this God, is not the ultimate fulfillment of the creature, for insofar as the creature is in God, even the least creature has the same richness as He. If it happened that a fly had intelligence and could apprehend the eternal from which it emanates, we would say that God, with all that He is as God, could not satisfy this fly. That is why we pray to be free of God and to be seized by this truth and enjoy it eternally, where the highest angels, the fly, and the soul are one; where I stood, where I wanted what I was, and was what I wanted.
We therefore say that a man must be as poor in will as he was when he was not. Thus, being free of all wanting, this man is truly poor. Secondly, poor is the one who knows nothing. We have often said that a man should live as though he lived neither for himself, nor for truth, nor for God. We now go further, saying that a man must live in such a way that he does not know in any way that he lives neither for himself, nor for truth, nor for God. More than that, he must be so free of all knowing that he neither knows nor senses that God lives in him. Better yet, he must be entirely free of all knowledge that could arise in him. When a man was still in the eternal being of God, nothing else lived in him but himself.
We therefore say that a man must be as free of all his own knowing as he was when he was not and let God operate as He wills, remaining free.
Everything that flows from God is destined for pure activity. But the activity proper to man is to love and to know. Now the question arises as to what constitutes blessedness.
Some masters say it resides in knowledge, others in love. Still others say it resides in both knowledge and love. These latter speak better. As for us, we say it resides neither in knowledge nor in love. In the soul, there is something from which both knowledge and love flow. This essence neither knows nor loves like the other powers of the soul. One who knows this knows blessedness. It has neither before nor after, without expectation, and is inaccessible to gain or loss. This essence is free of all knowledge that God acts in it but enjoys itself by itself, as God does.
We therefore say that a man must stand clear and free of God, without any knowledge or experience that God acts in him, and only in this way can true poverty arise in a man.
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This translation captures the complex theological and philosophical nuances of the text. Let me know if adjustments are needed!
EN