Francisco de Zurbarán (1636-1638), Pintura
del místico alemán Heinrich
Seuse. Pintura, óleo sobre lienzo, para un retablo del Convento de Porta Coeli (Sevilla),
Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla
Beato Enrico Suso con il monogramma IHS inciso sul petto, Zurbaran 1640 ca.
Bienheureux Henri Suso
Dominicain de
Constance (+ 1366)
Dominicain originaire de Constance, il devint prieur de plusieurs maisons de son Ordre. Grand prédicateur du Saint Nom de Jésus, il accepta de nombreuses contradictions. Directeur spirituel remarquable, il nous a laissé le « Livre de la Sagesse éternelle », ouvrage classique de la littérature mystique allemande. Il mourut à Ulm en Bavière.
Son culte fut approuvé en avril 1831.
Cette gravure coloriée du XVe siècle, conservée à la Bibliothèque nationale universitaire de Strasbourg, condense deux événements majeurs de la vie de Suso: le moment où il incise dans sa chair le nom de Jésus et celui où, voyant un chien jouer avec un morceau d'étoffe, il comprend qu'il doit accepter les épreuves qui viennent de l'extérieur plutôt que de se les infliger volontairement (l'Exemplar de Henri Suso, gravure coloriée, XVe siècle, B.N.U.S., K7).
À Ulm en Souabe, l'an 1366, le bienheureux Henri Seuze, prêtre de l'Ordre des
Prêcheurs qui supporta avec patience des désagréments et des peines sans
nombre, composa un traité sur la Sagesse éternelle et prêcha continuellement le
nom de Jésus.
Martyrologe romain
.jpg)
Heinrich Seuse und Jakob Griesinger, Wengenkirche Ulm
Heinrich
Seuse und Jakob Griesinger, Wengenkirche Ulm
(1300-1365)
Le bienheureux Henri Suzo naquit en Souabe. Dès son jeune âge, il entendit la
voix de Dieu et s'ensevelit à treize ans dans un couvent de Dominicains. Les
premières années de sa vie religieuse furent caractérisées par des hésitations
continuelles dans le service de Dieu; le démon tourmenta son coeur par la
pensée des plaisirs et des vanités du monde, mais la grâce l'aida à triompher
de tous ces pièges.
Henri Suzo avait dix-huit ans quand la lumière se fit dans son âme. Un jour, il
entendit lire ces paroles de Salomon: La Sagesse est plus éclatante que le
soleil, Elle est plus belle que l'harmonie des Cieux. Aussi je L'ai aimée dès
mon enfance, je suis l'adorateur de Ses charmes.
A dater de ce jour, plus que jamais il aima la divine Sagesse, dont le nom seul
faisait éclater ses transports: "Mon coeur est jeune et ardent, se
disait-il, il est porté à l'amour; il m'est impossible de vivre sans aimer; les
créatures ne sauraient me plaire et ne peuvent me donner la paix; oui, je veux
tenter fortune et gagner les bonnes grâces de cette divine et sainte Amie, dont
on raconte des choses si admirables et si sublimes!"
Peu de Saints ont eu pour Jésus un amour plus vif et plus tendre. Un jour, il
prit un canif, et, l'amour guidant sa main, il se lacéra la poitrine avec le
tranchant, jusqu'à ce qu'il eût formé les lettres du saint nom de Jésus sur son
coeur. Alors il s'écria: "O amour unique de mon coeur et de mon âme! Ô mon
Jésus! Voyez donc l'ardeur de ma passion pour Vous; je Vous ai imprimé dans ma
chair, mais je voudrais aller jusqu'au centre de mon coeur; gravez-y Vous-même
Votre saint nom avec des lettres éternelles qui ne s'effacent jamais!"
Rien de plus admirable que la manière dont il sanctifiait ses actions: à table
il s'imaginait être à côté de Jésus et reposer parfois sur Sa poitrine; il
offrait sa nourriture, il présentait son verre à Jésus-Christ; le peu qui lui
était nécessaire pour étancher sa soif, il le prenait à cinq fois, pour honorer
les cinq plaies du Sauveur; à chaque bouchée, il s'occupait à quelque sainte
pensée. Sa vie entière fut un continuel ravissement, une perpétuelle jubilation
d'amour.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame,
1950.
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/bienheureux_henri_suzo.html
Henri Suso (1296-1366)
L'horloge de la sagesse
Heinrich Seuse naît au
bord du lac de Constance, dans une famille de drapiers.
Après cinq années de
noviciat chez les Dominicains, inspiré par l'exemple des Pères du Désert, il se
livre à de redoutables austérités et macérations corporelles, quasiment morbides.
En 1320 il écoute les
sermons de Maîtres Eckhart dont la doctrine l'éblouit. Bientôt, au terme d'une
crise spirituelle intense, il jette dans le Rhin ses instruments de
mortification, et commence une quête mystique plus intériorisée.
Suso, comme Eckhart
et Tauler,
est chargé par son Ordre de visiter les couvents de moniales où il enseigne et
guide les consciences dont il a la charge sur la voie de la sagesse éternelle.
Mais la vénération dont il devient l'objet de la part de ses "filles
spirituelles" engendre une campagne calomnieuse. Alertés, ses supérieurs
l'expédient à Ulm où il meurt en 1366. Il sera béatifié en 1831.
Suso adoucit la rigueur
eckhartienne en se référant souvent à l'humanité du Christ. Sa langue plus
tempérée, apparentée aux poètes courtois, évoque la douleur de l'absence et,
inspirée par la vision tragique de la crucifixion, décrit le monde comme une
ville en ruines où errent les âmes en quête de Dieu.
Seule l'âme dénudée,
détachée des contingences sensuelles et mentales, peut remonter à sa source,
participer de l'effusion de la Déité, "tranquille obscurité demeurant en
elle-même"."...Dans cette ténébreuse absence de mode, toute multiplicité
disparaît et l'esprit perd son être propre, il disparaît selon sa propre
activité. Et tel est le but suprême, le "où" infini où aboutit la
spiritualité de tous les esprits ; s'être perdu ici pour toujours est la
suprême béatitude". Mais Suso, probablement inspiré par les exemples que
sa direction spirituelle lui offraient chaque jour, mit constamment en garde
ses disciples contre les égarements que peut engendrer une formulation
métaphysique trop abrupte et dénonça : "ces sauvages sans nom qui se
croient libérés parce qu'ils ont accomplis toutes leurs volontés sans
distinction". Si l'homme, anéanti dans la déité, se trouve au delà de tout
péché, il ne peut en être ainsi pour les esprits trompés par les subterfuges de
l'intellect qui assimilent le rien de toutes choses au néant... La créature est
tenue d'admettre sa différence, sa "nullité" avant de recevoir, au
sein de l'abîme propre à sa condition, l'effusion de la générosité divine. La
mystique négative est effectivement dangereuse, semée de pièges et de
sortilèges; rappelons l'avertissement de Grégoire Palamas : "Nous savons
que l'intellect comprend tout ce que l'apophase nie..." ; et Suso,
préoccupé par la confusion et l'indétermination spirituelle que peut susciter
la procession négative, pointe constamment sur la générosité de Dieu vis-à-vis
de sa créature. Sur la ligne de crête aride et désolée dont Eckhart avait
montré le chemin, Suso a voulu indiquer le terme : la croix sur laquelle fut
torturé le fils de Dieu.
" Ici l'esprit est
dépouillé de cette obscure lumière qui l'avait accompagné suivant le monde
humain depuis la révélation des choses. Là, il en est dépouillé, car il se
trouve lui-même suivant le monde de la lumière qui lui était donné auparavant ;
et il est ainsi dénudé et dépouillé de tout mode, dans l'absence de mode de la
simple essence divine. "
SOURCE : http://spiritualite3.free.fr/suso.html
Henri Suso est né
vers 1295 dans la région du lac de Constance. Selon la tradition, sa maison
natale, conservée aujourd'hui encore, se situerait à Überlingen. Son père
semble avoir appartenu à la famille de Berg, originaire de Thurgovie. Sa mère,
d'une nature aussi douce et pieuse que son père était impulsif et violent,
était issue de la famille de Suse. C'est ce nom qui sera adopté par le jeune
homme. Son enfance est marquée par la mésentente de ses parents et la fragilité
de sa santé. Sous l'influence de sa mère, il renonce à embrasser la carrière
des armes et se tourne vers la vie religieuse. A l'âge de 13 ans, il entre au
couvent des Dominicains de Constance. Suso évoque lui-même dans le Livre de la
Vie le manque de ferveur de ses cinq premières années dans cette maison. Un
changement profond survient en lui à l'âge de 18 ans. A la suite d'une vision,
il décide de rompre avec la dissipation de ses jeunes années et de mener une
vie de renoncement. Dans le souci de dompter une nature qu'il sent rétive et
dont il désespère, il se soumet dès lors à de terribles mortifications qui
éprouvent durement sa faible constitution. Son noviciat terminé, Suso commence
des études philosophiques et théologiques. Après une première formation à
Constance (mais aussi probablement à Strasbourg où les Dominicains avaient un
studium provinciale réputé), Suso est reçu au studium generale de Cologne. Suso
y suit les cours de Maître
Eckhart dans les dernières années de son enseignement. Il s'ouvre à
lui de ses doutes et de ses tourments intimes et reçoit ses encouragements. Les
brèves notations contenues à cet égard dans le Livre de la Vie laissent à
penser que Suso fut assez proche de Maître Eckhart. Une tradition largement
diffusée assure que Suso suivit l'enseignement de Maître Eckhart en même temps
que Jean
Tauler, son cadet de quelques années, mais aucun document ne permet de
l'établir. A la fin de ses études, Suso refuse la charge de Magister regens qui
lui était proposée et retourne au couvent de Constance. Dans cette grande
maison construite au bord du lac sur une presqu'île que seule une mince langue
de terre relie au rivage, Suso mène une vie de recueillement et de pénitence.
C'est à cette époque qu'il écrit ses deux grandes oeuvres, le Livre de la
Sagesse et le Livre de Vérité. Ce dernier traité, qui lui a été largement
inspiré par les démêlés de Maître Eckhart avec son ordre, par sa mort en 1328
et par la condamnation de ses thèses en 1328, l'amène à devoir répondre lui
aussi devant sa hiérarchie de différents points de sa pensée. Les fonctions de
lecteur, c'est-à-dire de directeur d'études, qu'il occupait au couvent lui sont
retirées et il reçoit pour charge d'assurer la direction spirituelle des
religieuses dans les communautés voisines. Les difficultés que rencontre Suso
avec son ordre coïncident avec un profond changement intérieur : après de
longues années de réclusion, il se sent appelé désormais à témoigner auprès des
hommes de son époque, en un monde ravagé par la guerre et les épidémies. Du
couvent de Constance où il continue de résider, il fait rayonner son activité
jusqu'à la Suisse et à l'Alsace et acquiert rapidement une grande réputation de
directeur de conscience et de prédicateur auprès des religieuses mais aussi de
la noblesse et de la bourgeoisie. Une nouvelle épreuve frappe Suso dans cette
période de sa vie lorsque le pape lance l'interdit sur Constance. La ville
ordonne au clergé, sous peine de privation des privilèges et de confiscation
des biens, de continuer de célébrer les offices. Suso fait partie de ceux qui
refusent de céder. Avec sept frères dominicains, il est contraint de quitter la
ville en 1339 et se réfugie au couvent de Diessenhoven. Cette situation dure
sept ans. En 1346, l'évêque obtient le retour des Dominicains bannis par le
Conseil de la ville. Mais Suso ne reste que peu de temps à Constance. Il est
assigné par ses supérieurs au couvent d'Ulm. Là, il reprend avec la même ardeur
infatigable son activité de directeur spirituel et de prédicateur. C'est dans
les dernières années de sa vie qu'il aurait, si l'on en croit la tradition,
révisé lui-même ses écrits et les aurait regroupés en un unique recueil,
L'Exemplaire. Suso meurt à Ulm le 25 janvier 1366. Il est enterré dans le
cloître du couvent des Dominicains. Vénéré depuis sa mort comme «bienheureux»,
Suso a été officiellement béatifié par l'Eglise le 16 avril 1831.
Texte © Editions Arfuyen
SOURCE : http://www.arfuyen.fr/html/ficheauteur.asp?id_aut=1101#Bibliographie
Henri Suso
Après Maître Eckart et
Jean Tauler, Henri Suso est représentatif de l'Ecole de spiritualité
dominicaine des "mystiques rhénans" du XIVe siècle. Elle garde la
vision de l'univers que lui donne saint Thomas, exalte le primat de la
contemplation et, pour y arriver, le dépouillement progressif du sensible, la
purification de ce qui agite et distrait, le regard sur le Christ, Vérité
éternelle.
Suso insiste sur l'union
au Christ par la contemplation de ses perfections et de ses souffrances. Après
lui, l'accent sera mis davantage sur l'affection que sur la connaissance : on
cherche ce qui émeut, on s'applique à méditer les plaies du Crucifié, les sept
douleurs de la Vierge : c'est l'ère des représentations tragiques de la
Passion, des Pieta, des descentes de croix... L'oeuvre de Suso annonce déjà ce
tournant à la fin du XIVe et au XVe siècle.
Henri Suso est né sur les
bords du lac de Constance, à la fin du XIIIe siècle. Un père mondain et
violent, une mère douce et pieuse d'où lui vient cette nature tendre et aimante
que nous trouvons dans ses écrits. Il entre chez les dominicains de Constance à
l'âge de 13 ans. Pendant cinq ans il y mène une vie plutôt médiocre et relâchée
et, à l'âge de 18 ans, ayant été favorisé d'une vision, il se convertit. Dès
lors il se livre à de très rudes austérités pour réduire son corps en
servitude, si bien qu'à 40 ans il était proche de la mort. Sur un signe du Très-Haut,
il jeta dans le Rhin tous ses instruments de pénitence.
Après ses premières
études théologiques, on l'avait envoyé à Cologne où il connut Maître Eckart
vers 1320-1325. Devenu lecteur, il revient à Constance de 1329 à 1336. Il y est
lecteur conventuel, puis prieur. Il y écrit, pour la défense d'Eckart, "Le
livre de la vérité". Cet ouvrage lui vaut de grands ennuis de la part du
Chapitre provincial, puis du Chapitre général qui le dépose de sa charge
priorale. Il reste alors dans son couvent et travaille à son "Livre de la
Sagesse" dédié au Maître de l'Ordre sous le titre "L'Horloge de la
Sagesse". Il se donne également à la prédication dans toute la région.
S'il a mis fin
volontairement à ses mortifications corporelles, le Seigneur ne lui épargne pas
les autres : il devient l'objet de calomnies et de détractions de toutes
sortes. De nature extrêmement sensible et aimante, il se voit abandonné par
plusieurs de ses amis. Il exerce pourtant un ministère très apprécié auprès de
plusieurs couvents de religieuses dominicaines. C'est à l'une d'elles,
Elisabeth Stagel, qu'il confie l'histoire de sa vie qu'elle mettra par écrit.
Refusant d'obéir aux
ordres schismatiques de Louis de Bavière, les dominicains quittent Constance et
se réfugient à Diessenhoven. Suso est envoyé à Ulm. On ne sait que très peu de
choses sur les dernières années de sa vie. Il y mourut en 1366 vers sa 70ème
année. Le concile de Constance le considéra comme bienheureux, mais sa
béatification officielle est due à Grégoire XVI en 1831.
Il nous reste de lui sa
Vie, sous la forme que nous avons dite, avec quelques retouches postérieures à
la révision qu'il en fit, le Livre de la Vérité, l'Horloge de la Sagesse, deux
collections de lettres et quelques Sermons. Le succès du Livre de la Sagesse
fut énorme : aux XIVe et XVe siècles, ce fut le livre le plus lu en Allemagne ;
aucun autre n'est représenté par autant de manuscrits, pas même l'Imitation de
Jésus-Christ. (Source : Chéry, Henri-Charles. Saints et bienheureux de la
famille dominicaine. Fraternité dominicaine Lacordaire. Lyon. 1991.)
Bienheureux Henri Suso
Prêtre dominicain
(† 1366)
Henri Suso naît sur
les bords du lac de Constance (situé à la frontière entre la Suisse,
l'Allemagne et l'Autriche), à la fin du XIIIe siècle. Un père mondain et
violent, une mère douce et pieuse d'où lui vient cette nature tendre et aimante
que nous trouvons dans ses écrits.
Il entre chez les dominicains de Constance à l'âge de 13 ans. Pendant cinq ans il y mène une vie plutôt médiocre et relâchée et, à l'âge de 18 ans, ayant été favorisé d'une vision, il se convertit. Dès lors il se livre à de très rudes austérités pour réduire son corps en servitude, si bien qu'à 40 ans il était proche de la mort. Sur un signe du Très-Haut, il jeta dans le Rhin tous ses instruments de pénitence.
Après ses premières études théologiques, on l'avait envoyé à Cologne où il
connut Maître Eckart vers 1320-1325. Devenu lecteur, il revient à Constance de
1329 à 1336. Il y est lecteur conventuel, puis prieur ; il y écrit, pour
la défense d'Eckart, "Le livre de la vérité". Cet ouvrage lui vaut de
grands ennuis de la part du Chapitre provincial, puis du Chapitre général qui
le dépose de sa charge priorale. Il reste alors dans son couvent et travaille à
son "Livre de la Sagesse" dédié au Maître de l'Ordre sous le titre
"L'Horloge de la Sagesse". Il se donne également à la prédication
dans toute la région.
S'il a mis fin
volontairement à ses mortifications corporelles, le Seigneur ne lui épargne pas
les autres : il devient l'objet de calomnies et de détractions de toutes
sortes. De nature extrêmement sensible et aimante, il se voit abandonné par plusieurs
de ses amis. Il exerce pourtant un ministère très apprécié auprès de plusieurs
couvents de religieuses dominicaines. C'est à l'une d'elles, Élisabeth Stagel,
qu'il confie l'histoire de sa vie qu'elle mettra par écrit.
Refusant d'obéir aux ordres schismatiques de Louis de Bavière, les dominicains quittent Constance et se réfugient à Diessenhoven. Suso est envoyé à Ulm. On ne sait que très peu de choses sur les dernières années de sa vie.
Il y meurt en 1366 vers sa 70e année. Le concile de Constance le considéra
comme bienheureux, mais sa béatification officielle est due à Grégoire XVI
(Bartolomeo Cappellari, 1831-1846) en 1831.
Il nous reste de lui sa
Vie, sous la forme que nous avons dite, avec quelques retouches postérieures à
la révision qu'il en fit, le Livre de la Vérité, l'Horloge de la Sagesse,
deux collections de lettres et quelques Sermons. Le succès du Livre de la
Sagesse fut énorme : aux XIVe et XVe siècles, ce fut le livre le plus
lu en Allemagne ; aucun autre n'est représenté par autant de manuscrits, pas
même l'Imitation de Jésus-Christ.
Après Maître Eckart et Jean Tauler, Henri Suso est représentatif de l'École de spiritualité dominicaine des "mystiques rhénans" du XIVe siècle. Elle garde la vision de l'univers que lui donne saint Thomas, exalte le primat de la contemplation et, pour y arriver, le dépouillement progressif du sensible, la purification de ce qui agite et distrait, le regard sur le Christ, Vérité éternelle.
Suso insiste sur l'union au Christ par la contemplation de ses perfections et
de ses souffrances. Après lui, l'accent sera mis davantage sur l'affection que
sur la connaissance : on cherche ce qui émeut, on s'applique à méditer les
plaies du Crucifié, les sept douleurs de la Vierge : c'est l'ère des
représentations tragiques de la Passion, des Pietà, des Descentes de Croix...
L'œuvre de Suso annonce déjà ce tournant à la fin du XIVe et au XVe siècle.
SOURCE : https://levangileauquotidien.org/FR/display-saint/21fc9ce5-7e1b-419b-b404-63490ad38e60
Bx Henri Suso (1296-1366)
Heinrich Seuse naît au
bord du lac de Constance, dans une famille de drapiers. Après cinq années de
noviciat chez les Dominicains, inspiré par l'exemple des Pères du Désert, il se
livre à de redoutables austérités. En 1320 il écoute les sermons de Maîtres Eckhart
dont la doctrine l'éblouit. Bientôt, au terme d'une crise spirituelle intense,
il commence une quête mystique plus intériorisée. Suso, comme Eckhart et
Tauler, est chargé par son Ordre de visiter les couvents de moniales où il
enseigne et guide les consciences dont il a la charge sur la voie de la sagesse
éternelle. Mais la vénération dont il devient l'objet de la part de ses
"filles spirituelles" engendre une campagne calomnieuse. Alertés, ses
supérieurs l'expédient à Ulm où il meurt en 1366. Il sera béatifié en 1831.
Suso adoucit la rigueur eckhartienne en se référant souvent à l'humanité du
Christ. Sa langue plus tempérée évoque la douleur de l'absence et, inspirée par
la vision tragique de la crucifixion, décrit le monde comme une ville en ruines
où errent les âmes en quête de Dieu. Seule l'âme dénudée, détachée des
contingences sensuelles et mentales, peut remonter à sa source, participer de
l'effusion de la Déité, "tranquille obscurité demeurant en
elle-même".
SOURCE : http://www.peintre-icones.fr/PAGES/CALENDRIER/Janvier/25.html
Pfarr-
und Wallfahrtskirche Zu unserer lieben Frau, Mariabrunn, Gemeinde Eriskirch,
Bodenseekreis
Plastik
"Heinrich Suso"
Also
known as
Amandus
Heinrich Seuse
Heinrich von Berg
Henrik Seuse
Henry Susone
Servant of the Eternal
Wisdom
Profile
Born to the German nobility.
Joined the Dominicans at
age 13. Known as a mystic.
Served as prior at
several houses. Theological student
of Meister
Eckhart in Cologne, Germany from 1322 to 1325. Taught in Constance, Switzerland.
Spent years imprisoned in
a dungeon due to slander and his association with Meister
Eckhart, a controversial figure in his day. Great spiritual writer,
using the pen name Amandus. Noted preacher in Switzerland and
the area of the Upper Rhine. Spiritual advisor to Dominicans and
the spiritual community called Gottesfreunde
Given to great austeries,
Henry owned a half-length, tight-fitting, coarse undergarment equipped with 150
sharp brass nails, the points facing inward; he used it as his night shirt.
After 16 years of this, an angel appeared
to him on Pentecost Sunday and whispered that God wanted him to discontinue
this practice; he threw his shirt into the Rhine.
Born
21 March 1295 at
Uberlingen, Germany as Heinrich
von Berg
25 January 1366 at
Ulm, Germany of
natural cause
1831 by Pope Gregory
XVI
God of wisdom, you called
Blessed Henry to follow your Son and gave him the grace to mortify his body.
May we follow the crucified Christ and so obtain his eternal consolation. We
ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. – General Calendar of the Order of
Preachers
Dominican with
the Holy Name on his chest
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
Stars
in Saint Dominic’s Crown, by Father Thomas
Austin Dyson
Stories
of Holy Lives, by M.F.S.
–
A Little Book of Eternal
Wisdom, by Blessed Henry
Suso
audiobook version by The Priory Librarian
The Life of Blessed Henry
Suso by Himself
audiobook version by The Priory Librarian
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
video
The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom (audiobook by The
Priory Librarian)
The Life of Blessed Henry Suso by Himself (audiobook
by The Priory Librarian)
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
nettsteder
i norsk
spletne
strani v slovenšcini
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Henry
Suso“. CatholicSaints.Info. 7 January 2023. Web. 20 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-henry-suso/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-henry-suso/
Article
(Blessed) (October 25)
(14th century) A Dominican Saint of Flemish descent who died at Ulm in Germany
(A.D. 1365). He was remarkable for his gifts of supernatural prayer, and his
works on the Contemplative Life, much used in our own day, have been translated
into many languages and often reprinted.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate. “Henry
Suso”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
27 May 2016. Web. 20 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-henry-suso/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-henry-suso/
Bl. Henry Suso
Feastday: January 23
Birth: 1300
Death: 1366
Famed German Dominican
mystic wrote many classic books. Born Heinrich von Berg in Constance, Swabia,
he entered the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans, at an early age. Undergoing
a conversion, he developed an abiding spiritual life and
studied under Meister Eckhart in Cologne from
1322-1325. He then returned to Constance to
teach, subsequently authoring numerous books of spirituality. As he supported
Meister Eckhart who was then the source of some controversy and had been
condemned by Pope John XXII in
1329 Henry was censured by his superiors and stripped of his teaching
position. He subsequently became a preacher in Switzerland and
the Upper
Rhine and was a brilliant spiritual advisor among the Dominicans and
the spiritual community of the Gottesfreunde . He endured persecution right up
until his death at Ulm. Pope Gregory XVI beatified him in 1831.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=3722
Blessed Henry Suso
(Also called Amandus,
a name adopted in his writings). German mystic, born
at Constance on
21 March, about 1295; died at Ulm, 25 January, 1366;
declared Blessed in 1831 by Gregory
XVI, who assigned his feast in theDominican
Order to 2 March.
His life
His father belonged to
the noble family of
Berg; his mother, a holy woman from
whom he took his name, to afamily of Sus
(or Süs). When thirteen years of age he entered the Dominican convent at Constance,
where he made his preparatory, philosophical,
and theological studies.
From 1324 to 1327 he took
a supplementary course in theology in
the Dominican studium
generale at Cologne,
where he sat at the feet of Johann
Eckhart, "the Master", and probably at the side of Tauler,
both celebratedmystics. Returning to Constance,
he was appointed to the office of lector,
from which he seems to have been removed some time between 1329 and 1334. In
the latter year he began his apostolic career. About 1343 he
waselected prior of
a convent,
probably at Diessenhofen. Five years later he was sent from Constance to Ulm
where he remained until his death.
Suso's life as
a mystic began in his eighteenth year, when giving up his
careless habits of the five preceding years, he made himself
"the Servant of the Eternal Wisdom", which he identified
with the Divine essence and, in a concrete form, with the personal Eternal Wisdom
made man. Henceforth a burning love for
the Eternal Wisdom dominated his thoughts and controlled
his actions. He had frequent visions and ecstasies,
practised severeausterities (which he prudently moderated in maturer
years), and bore with rare patience corporal afflictions,
bitter persecutions and grievous calumnies.
He became foremost among
the Friends
of God in the work of restoring religious observance in the cloisters.
His influence was especially strong in many convents of women,
particularly in the Dominican convent of
Katherinenthal, a famous nursery of mysticism in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and in that of Toss, where lived
the mystic Elsbeth Stagel, who turned some of
his Latin into German, collected and preserved most of his
extant letters, and drew from him the history of his life which he
himself afterwards developed and published.
In the world he was
esteemed as a preacher, and was heard in the cities and towns of Swabia, Switzerland,Alsace,
and the Netherlands.
His apostolate, however, was not with the masses, but rather with individuals of
all classes who were drawn to him by his singularly attractive personality,
and to whom he became a personal director in the spiritual life.
It has often been
incorrectly said that he established among the Friends
of God a society which
he called theBrotherhood of the Eternal Wisdom. The
so-called Rule of the Brotherhood of
the Eternal Wisdom is but a free translation of
a chapter of his "Horologium Sapientiae", and did not make
its appearance until the fifteenth century.
His writings
The first writing from
the pen of Suso was the "Büchlein der Wahrheit", which he issued
while a student atCologne. Its doctrine was
unfavourably criticized in some circles — very probably on account of
its author's closerelations with Eckhart,
who had just been called upon to explain or to reject certain propositions
— but it was found to be entirely orthodox.
As in this, so in his
other writings Suso, while betraying Eckhart's influence,
always avoided the errors of
"theMaster". The book was really written in part against the pantheistic teachings
of the Beghards,
and against the libertine teachings of the Brethren of the
Free Spirit. Father Denifle considers
it the most difficult "little book" among the writings of
the German mystics.
Whereas in this book Suso
speaks as a contemplative and to the intellect,
in his next, "Das Büchlein der ewigenWeisheit", published early in
1328, he is eminently practical and speaks out of the fullness of his heart to
"simplemen who still have imperfections to be put
off". Bihlmeyer accepts Denifle's judgment that
it is the "most beautiful fruit of German mysticism", and
places it next to the "Homilies" of St.
Bernard, and the "Imitation
of Christ" by Thomas
à Kempis. In the second half of the fourteenth and in the fifteenth century
there was no more widely read meditation book in the German
language.
In 1334 Suso translated
this work into Latin, but in doing so added considerably to its contents,
and made of it an almost entirely new book, to which he gave the name
"Horologium Sapientiae". Even more elevating than the
original, finished in language, rich in figure, rhythmic in movement,
it became a favourite book in the cloisters at
the close of the Middle
Ages, not only in Germany,
but also in the Netherlands, France, Italy,
and England.
To the same period of
Suso's literary activity may belong "Das Minnebüchlein" but its authenticity is
doubtful.
After retiring to Ulm
Suso wrote the story of his inner life ("Vita" or "Leben
Seuses"), revised the "Büchlein der Wahrheit", and the
"Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit", all of which, together with
eleven of his letters (the "Briefbüchlein"), and a prologue, he
formed into one book known as the "Exemplar Seuses".
Besides the
above-mentioned writings we have also five sermons by
Suso and a collection of twenty-eight of his letters (Grosses Briefbuch), which
may be found in Bihlmeyer's edition.
Suso is called
by Wackernagel and others a "Minnesinger in prose and in
the spiritual order." The mutual love of God and man which
is his principal theme gives warmth and colour to his style. He used the full
and flexibleAlamannian idiom with rare skill, and contributed much to
the formation of good German prose, especially by giving new
shades of meaning to words employed to describe inner sensations. His intellectual equipment
was characteristic of the schoolmen of
his age. In his doctrine there
was never the least trace of an unorthodoxtendency.
For centuries he
exercised an influence upon spiritual writers. Among his readers and admirers
were Thomas à Kempis and Bl. Peter Canisius.
McMahon, Arthur. "Blessed
Henry Suso." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York:
Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 Apr.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07238c.htm>.
Copyright © 2020 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07238c.htm
Holzschnitt
von Heinrich Seuse. Source: Bibliothèque Nationale et Universitaire de
Strasbourg, Inkunabel K. 7
New
Catholic Dictionary – Blessed Henry Suso
Article
Confessor, Dominican mystic,
born Constance, Germany, c.1295; died Ulm,
1366. He studied at Cologne under Eckhart the celebrated mystic. From his
eighteenth year his life was dominated by a burning love for the Eternal
Wisdom. Though an esteemed preacher his great work was as a spiritual director,
his influence being particularly noticeable in the convents of KatherinenthaI
and Toss. His “Little Book of Eternal Wisdom”
is a most beautiful fruit of German mysticism. For centuries his works
influenced spiritual writers and have contributed much to the formation of
German prose. Represented with the Holy Name on his chest. Cult approved,
1831. Feast, 2
March.
MLA
Citation
“Blessed Henry
Suso”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
27 May 2016. Web. 20 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-blessed-henry-suso/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-blessed-henry-suso/
Saints and
Saintly Dominicans – 2 March
Blessed Henry
Suso, Confessor, O.P.
Blessed Henry
Suso entered the Order at the age of thirteen, but his conduct until
the time he was eighteen was not very edifying. The more he allowed himself to
be influenced by family affection, by the society of frivolous friends and by
the love of ease, so much the more grace pursued him with remorse and regrets.
At last the Divine Wisdom, whose fervent disciple and theologian he afterwards
became, having touched his heart, he gave himself to Jesus crucified with a
wonderful generosity, and from that time practiced mortifications which we
tremble to read of. Nevertheless these corporal sufferings were as nothing
compared with the contempt and mental sufferings with which he was next
overwhelmed; violent temptations against faith, the sadness of desolation and
thoughts of despair. This last trial lasted six years. His simplicity in making
known his temptations to his very enlightened director, Venerable Father Eckard,
and his devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, which he had branded on his breast
with a red-hot iron, gave him light and strength to triumph over all and even
to turn them to his greater progress. His works on the Eternal Wisdom are full
of doctrine and sweetness. When he said the “Sursum Corda” at Mass, all who
assisted were struck with his fervor. One of his works of zeal was the
conversion of his sister, who in spite of her vows had fled from her convent,
and he brought her back to the fold by means of tears, affection and prayers (1365).
Prayer
“Courage, my heart, no
more wavering.” – Blessed Henry
Suso
Practice
Pray for all tepid
religious, dissipated and tempted to infidelity to their vocation.
– taken from the
book Saints
and Saintly Dominicans, by Blessed Hyacinthe-Marie
Cormier, O.P.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-and-saintly-dominicans-2-march/
February 15: Blessed
Henry Suso, C., O.P., III Class
Today, in the 1962
Dominican Rite Calendar, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Henry Suso,
confessor of the Order of Preachers. Since his feast is III Class, and we
are now in the Season of Lent, the Ferial Office of Lent is prayed and a
commemoration of Bl. Susso is made at Lauds and Vespers only.
At Ulm, in Germany,
Blessed Henry Suso of Swabia, confessor, of our Order. He was celebrated for
observance of the rules of religious life, for the holiness of his fife, and
the reputation for miracles. He died January 25, but his feast is observed
today.
From “Short Lives of the
Dominican Saints” (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, and Trübner & Co., Ltd.,
1901):
Henry Suso was a German
by birth, and at the age of thirteen took the habit in the Dominican Convent at
Constance. He showed but little fervor during his novitiate and lived in
negligence and dissipation till he had completed his eighteenth year. But the Divine
Wisdom, whose devoted disciple he was destined to become, was pleased to touch
his heart. One day, as he sat at table in the refectory, he heard read aloud
some passages from the Book of Wisdom, which produced a powerful effect on his
soul. He began to undertake a thorough change of life, but was beset by March 2
grievous temptations, all of which he generously and perseveringly overcame.
For two-and-twenty years he practiced the most terrific austerities. During
eight years he wore on his shoulders a cross studded with sharp nails; twice
every day he disciplined himself to blood; day and night he wore a hair shirt
armed with one hundred and fifty sharp iron points; and in addition to these
mortifications he observed extraordinary abstinence, enduring in particular the
utmost extremity of thirst.
Nevertheless, when he had
come to his fortieth year, it was revealed to him, that, after all these
sufferings, he had only reached the first degree of true mortification, and
that, if he would attain the perfect love of God, he must consent to pass
through far more searching trials. He had to endure the most cruel calumnies,
frightful interior desolation, the loss of friends and of reputation, and a
thousand other crosses ; yet in the midst of all these afflictions, which were
exquisitely painful to his sensitive heart, he never lost confidence or
courage.
Blessed Henry Suso bore a
tender devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He engraved it with a sharp penknife
over his heart, and found in that adorable Name a buckler of defense against
all the assaults of his enemies. This devotion to the Holy Name was widely
diffused amongst his spiritual children, many of whom used to wear a small
scapular, on which were embroidered the letters I.H.S.
His love for our Blessed
Lady was of the tenderest and most childlike description. During the Christmas
season he always deprived himself of a portion of the fruit served at table,
offering it in spirit to her and praying her to give it to her Divine Child,
for whose sake he went without it. As soon as the first flowers appeared in
spring, he hastened to weave a garland which he placed on the head of Mary's
statue in the Lady Chapel, in the hope that, as she was the fairest of all
flowers and the bliss of summer to his heart, she would not disdain to accept
these first flowers from her servant. He had many devotional practices in honor
of his Heavenly Mother and she sometimes deigned to show herself to him in
vision.
Full of zeal for the
salvation of souls, Blessed Henry labored constantly in the ministry of the
Word, and was one of the most renowned preachers and spiritual directors of his
day. He was endowed with a sublime gift of prayer and the numerous spiritual
works which he composed won for him in his own time the title of the Ecstatic
Doctor. The best known of his writings is his "Little Book of Eternal
Wisdom," which treats chiefly of the Passion of Our Lord.
Blessed Henry passed to a
better life in the Convent of Ulm in Germany, on the 25th January, A.D. 1365.
From the time of his death he was beatified by the voice of the people, and
Pope Gregory XVI approved of the veneration which had been paid to him from
time immemorial and gave permission for his Office to be celebrated throughout
the Dominican Order.
Prayer
O God, you made the
blessed Henry, your confessor, wonderful both in mortification of body and in
charity; grant that we may show forth Christ crucified in our deeds, and live
him in our hearts. Through the same…
SOURCE : https://breviariumsop.blogspot.com/2018/02/february-15-blessed-henry-suso-c-op-iii.html
Stories of
Holy Lives – Blessed Henry Suso
Article
At Neberlingen, near
Constance, on the festival of Saint Benedict, in the year 1300, Henry Suso was
born of a good and noble family. His mother was a person of such great holiness,
that her son venerated her next to the Blessed Virgin and the Saints of God;
and it was in his devotion that, instead of using the surname of his father, he
took her maiden name of “Seuss,” which he latinised into Suso, and bore ever
after. At thirteen years of age Henry Suso entered into the novitiate of the
Dominicans, who had a foundation in Constance, and in due time he was allowed
to take religious vows there, thus gaining the desire which had been in his
heart from the earliest days of childhood.
After some years, in
which he made steady progress in the love and service of Almighty God, he was
sent to the Dominicans at Cologne, so that he might pursue those studies which
were necessary to fit him for doing good to the souls of men, and there he was
soon promoted to the degree of a “doctor of theology.” Many would have been
pleased with their success, but in the heart of Henry Suso a Divine voice
seemed speaking clearly and strongly, forbidding him to accept this honour, and
he could not but obey its warnings. All God’s servants can only be safe by
following closely His inspirations, and as in some cases He causes them to know
that learning and honour, and even high position, are His gifts, and must be
accepted and used for His glory, so to others, as to blessed Henry Suso, He
makes known His Will, that they should pass through life by a more hidden path,
in which they can best do a work in the souls of others. Thus this holy
Dominican friar gave himself up to preach with great earnestness, and he had the
happiness of converting many sinners, and leading souls that already loved God
to a better way of following Him. His own soul was one of those chosen out for
those strange, close communications with the Almighty which we cannot wholly
understand. He was penetrated with such a sense of his sinfulness and
unworthiness, that his constant acts of contrition and humility drew God down
to him in wonderful union, so that in his time of prayer his whole heart seemed
poured out and lost in Divine love, in which he heard a heavenly voice
instructing and guiding him in holy things. Once, in a moment of fervour, he
pierced the flesh just above his heart, and imprinted there the Holy Name,
caring nothing for the pain of the wound or the blood which flowed from it; then
kneeling down, he besought Jesus to imprint His dear Name so deeply within his
heart, that it might never for a moment be forgotten. After a while the wound
healed up, but the letters of the Name remained always plainly upon his flesh,
and if he gazed on it in any trouble which befell him, that trouble seemed
directly lightened of its weight. When the Blessed Henry was called by the bell
to his meals, he used to kneel for a moment, asking his Divine Lord to go with
him to table, and he would try to picture Jesus in the place opposite, and thus
eat and drink with the remembrance of His presence. He had a great liking for
fruit, but, inspired by God, he refrained from eating it until his taste was
completely subdued, when, in obedience to the Divine Will made known to him, he
again partook of it in company with others. It seemed as if Jesus was always so
visibly present to his mind, that he was as one who walked in body by our
Lord’s side in even the smallest action of his daily life. Sleeping, rising,
eating, preaching, or praying, his heart was wholly turned to his Divine
Master, and to the most perfect way of imitating Him.
His penances were severe,
but they were all done for the pure motive of accomplishing God’s Will. The
scourge, the hair-shirt, the fast or vigil, were all well known to him in his
work of killing nature, that so his spirit might truly live; but all these
helps would have done nothing in making him holy but for the spirit in which he
executed them and the obedience with which they were taken up or laid aside
without self-pleasing.
According to his
Dominican rule, the Blessed Henry had frequently to undertake long journeys,
during which he was preaching and teaching in the Name of God; and many
difficulties and sicknesses befell him, but he always turned with full
confidence to the thought of God’s unfailing protection, and found comfort
thus.
In many towns people
turned against him, and spread evil reports of his character. In one place
there was a monastery which possessed a large stone crucifix of the size, it
was said, of Christ Himself. Upon a day in Lent fresh blood was observed upon
the crucifix, beneath the wound on the left side, and when Blessed Henry, like
other people, went to gaze with wonder, he drew close and received the blood
upon his finger in the sight of all. The throng became greater, and as they
pressed round the holy man they forced him to tell what he had seen and done;
and he did so, only declaring that he dared not pronounce any opinion whether
this strange thing was the work of God or man. The story was passed about from
lip to lip, and changing and growing as such stories do, there were those who
did not hesitate to say that Blessed Henry had drawn blood from his own finger
and rubbed it on the crucifix, in order to deceive the people and make them
suppose the crucifix was miraculous. The people of that part soon became so
angry and enraged, that he had to escape by night in great haste, or they would
have fallen on him to kill him; and gladly as Henry Suso would have given up
life for Christ, he knew God called him then to save himself, and continue in
his work of teaching men.
Another time, during a
journey, the blessed man fell into a great stream of water, having upon him a
little book he had just finished writing, which he hoped God would make useful
to many souls. He was being swept away by the strong current, when by the Divine
Providence there came up a young man, who ventured into the stream and saved
the life of God’s servant.
Again, on another journey
during very cold weather, he had travelled a whole day without tasting food,
when he came to a deep, rapid piece of water, and the man who drove the
carriage in which the Blessed Henry was seated went carelessly too near the
bank, so that the holy man fell into the stream. He could not turn on either
side, because the carriage had fallen over him, and in this state he was floated
some distance down towards a mill. Several persons ran to help draw him out,
but it was not for some time, and with great difficulty, that they succeeded in
bringing him to land, dripping wet and almost exhausted. His teeth chattered
with cold, and there was no village or town near, wherein he could be warmed or
refreshed, and in this miserable state he called upon God to aid him. At last,
on the hill, he espied a very small village, and there, all frozen and wet, he
made his way, which took him so long, that night had set in when he reached the
door. In God’s name he begged for shelter, but was driven away from house after
house. No one pitied him, no one cared for his misery, and then the cold and
fatigue seemed to attack his heart, so that he feared for his life, and cried
aloud to God to befriend him. These words of prayer were overheard by a peasant
who had already, like the rest, driven the holy man from his door, but now
Divine Grace changed his heart, and, repenting of his unkindness, he raised the
sufferer in his arms and gave him shelter until morning.
Many as were the troubles
which God permitted to overtake Blessed Henry Suso one after another, it
happened sometimes that a time of peace and rest was granted him, but this was
never a cause of joy; loving suffering for the sake of being conformed to the
likeness of his Master, he felt that things were going very ill with him’ when
no one attacked his good name or treated him unkindly, and it seemed as if God
had forgotten him, until fresh trials were granted. Many persons were drawn to
begin a spiritual life by his earnest teaching and holy example; many put far
from them all earthly love for the love of God; and when, after many years of
constant labour and suffering, the blessed man died, he was missed and mourned
by all his spiritual children. It was on the Feast of the Conversion of Saint
Paul, in the year 1365, that he passed from this world, while he was staying in
the city of Ulm, and he was buried in the cloister of the Dominican convent there.
Two hundred years went
by, years which had seen his name almost forgotten, when some workmen, digging
the foundations for a new building, came by accident upon the body of Blessed
Henry Suso, lying clothed in the Dominican habit, still incorrupt, and sending
forth a most sweet fragrance. The men went in fear and surprise to the
burgomaster of that city, but he bade them fill up the grave and keep the
matter secret. However, it was not God’s Will that the sanctity of His servant
should remain hidden, and many devout persons went to the spot and obtained
morsels of his habit, which have been since distributed and prized amongst
Catholics. At a later period efforts were made to discover the sacred remains,
but without success; but his name has not died from out of the hearts of men,
and his feast is kept on the 2nd of March by the Dominican order, with the
approbation of Pope Gregory XVI.
“When a man has died to
self, and begun to live in Christ, it is well with him,” was one of the
spiritual maxims of Blessed Henry Suso, and one which contains the secret of
his great holiness. It was the daily unflinching warfare against self, the
crucifixion of his natural tastes and desires, which made his heart ready for
the rich graces God bestowed upon him, and drew him onward to a life “hidden
with Christ in God.” Nor was this left for the work of his manhood, for Henry
Suso took upon himself early the sweet yoke of Christ, and fought bravely
against the temptations of childhood and youth, and thus he – like his Master
when upon earth – grew in God’s favour with each advancing year, until his
warfare was ended, his work done, and his soul rested in the fulness of
everlasting bliss.
MLA
Citation
M.F.S. “Blessed Henry
Suso”. Stories of Holy Lives. CatholicSaints.Info.
5 May 2022. Web. 20 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/stories-of-holy-lives-blessed-henry-suso/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/stories-of-holy-lives-blessed-henry-suso/
Heinrich
Seuse: Schriften -Dominikanerinnenkloster St. Peter in Konstanz
Life
of Heinrich Sue Einsiedeln, Stiftsbibliothek, Codex 710 (322)
Stars
in Saint Dominic’s Crown – Blessed Henry Suso
Article
He who attempts to write
the life of Blessed Henry Suso would do well to imitate the piety of the quaint
authors of olden times, who began their labors with a prayer for heavenly
guidance, and closed them with a pious petition to their readers not to forget
the writer in their prayers. He also who reads it should do so, not to pass
away an idle hour, but from an earnest desire to learn something for the good
of his soul. “Worldly minded men,” says Touron, “will not enjoy his life and
writings; while the pious will always find in them new motives which will lead
them to tend to that perfection which dwelt in the heart of this servant of
God.”
Blessed Henry Suso was
born at Uberlingen, near Constance, in Suabia, 21 March 1300. He was of noble
family. His name before he entered religion was John de Berg de Monteze; but he
chose to be called Henry Suso, Suzo being the Latinized form of Saussen, his
mother’s family name. She was a saintly woman who suffered much from her
dissolute husband. She had a great and tender devotion to the Passion of our
Divine Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, upon which she made a tearful meditation
every morning. Her love for God was so great that her weak body could not bear
the strain her exalted piety put upon it, and she underwent many a long and
severe sickness, which she bore so patiently, that her household was much
edified. One day, kneeling before a picture of Jesus taken down from the cross,
her grief became so extreme that she fell fainting on the ground. She was
carried to her bed, which she never again left. It was at the beginning of
Lent, and on Good Friday, at the same hour at which her Divine Redeemer died on
the cross she passed away from this world.
Some years afterwards,
when Blessed Henry had entered the Dominican Order and was making his studies
at Cologne, his mother’s soul appeared to him in a vision, and said in a joyful
tone, “My son, love the Almighty God, for it is certain that He will never
abandon thee in any adversity. Although I have left this world, nevertheless I
am not dead. I live in God for all eternity.” She embraced him tenderly, and
after blessing him disappeared.
At another time he saw
his deceased father among many other suffering souls. He was in great pain, and
described to his son the torments of purgatory. He told him what he should do
to relieve him, and when Blessed Henry had done all that he requested, appeared
to him a second time and told him that he was delivered from all suffering and
was now happy in heaven.
Blessed Henry, profiting
by the pious education given him by his holy mother, from his childhood felt
called to the religious state. He entered the Dominican Order in the monastery
at Constance, built on a small island where the Rhine flows out of the beautiful
lake of the same name. It is still in existence, but no longer used for its
original purpose, and now serves for a manufactory. From the window of his cell
the young novice could see the beauty of the works of God; everything his eye
fell on was fitted to lead his mind to the author of nature, to draw away his
thoughts and affections from earthly things, and to fix his heart and mind on
God.
After he had made his
profession he was sent to the Dominican monastery at Cologne, that he might
study at the University, and was about to be raised to the degree of Doctor in
Theology when he was interiorly admonished by God not to accept that dignity.
“Thou already knowest,” said this heavenly voice, “how to give thyself to God,
and to draw other men to Him by preaching.”
For several years after
his entrance into the monastery he seems to have made little effort to live as
a true religious; but in his eighteenth year a great change took place in him.
The account of this, the turning point of his life, cannot be better given than
in words from his autobiography. “The first beginning of the Servitor’s perfect
conversion to God took place in his eighteenth year; and although he had worn
the religious habit for the five previous years his soul was dissipated within him,
and it seemed to him that if God only preserved him from weightier sins which
might tarnish his good name, there was no need to be overcareful about ordinary
faults. Nevertheless he was so kept by God the while that he had always an
unsatisfied feeling within him, whenever he turned himself to the object of his
desires, and it seemed to him that it must be something quite different that
could bring peace to his wild heart, and he was ill at ease amid his restful
ways. He felt at times a gnawing reproach within, and yet he could not help
himself, until the kind God set him free from it by converting him. His
companions marvelled at the quick change, wondering how it had come over him,
and one said this, and another that, but as to how it was no one guessed or
came near to guessing; for it was a secret illumination and drawing sent by
God, and it speedily wrought in him a turning away from creatures.”
It was however a hard
struggle for him, as it is for many a soul, but he weathered the storm which
his spiritual enemy raised around him, and saved himself from the shipwreck
which threatened his salvation. The devil made every effort to hinder him from
carrying out the good resolutions the Spirit of God inspired into his heart. He
whispered to him, “Remember it is easy to begin, but almost impossible to
persevere.” But Blessed Henry, strong in the grace of God, and resolute in his
holy purpose, answered, The Holy Ghost, who calls me is all-powerful. He can do
in me what is easy and what is difficult.” But again the tempter whispered to
him, “No one can doubt God’s power, but can you count on corresponding to His
grace?” Blessed Henry replied, “God who calls me will not abandon me; He
invites me to serve Him, and will not refuse me needful help.” Then the devil plied
him with all the old arguments he makes use of to hinder souls from giving
themselves to God with all their heart and soul: that his conversion was too
sudden and would not last; that moderation is the best means of success; that
no one becomes a saint all at once; that although religious are free to live a
strict and mortified life in private yet in public they ought to conform to the
ways of the world, and so on. But on the other side the spirit of heavenly
wisdom said to him: “He who thinks he can subdue his body and reduce it to the
law of the spirit whilst living delicately and indulging the senses is very
foolish; for it is impossible to enjoy worldly pleasures and serve God
faithfully at the same time. He who desires to serve God must begin by renouncing
his own self-will.”
One day, as he was
weeping in the church in great perplexity of mind God favored him with a
vision, in which, to encourage and console him He made known to him the
inutterable joys of heaven. This was the beginning of a series of visions of
exquisite poetic beauty, which continued throughout his whole life. Hearing a
part of the Holy Scriptures read in the refectory, in which our Lord is called
the “Eternal Wisdom,” he felt his heart violently but lovingly attracted
towards the Eternal Wisdom, and from that moment his life became a strong and
earnest struggle to possess it. My heart, young and ardent,” he says, is drawn
towards love. I cannot live without loving. Created things cannot please me,
nor give me peace.” He much loved to repeat those words of Holy Scripture,
which describe the pure joys of heavenly wisdom: “Wisdom is more beautiful than
the sun, and above all the order of the skies; being compared with the light
she is found before it.” (Wisdom 7:29) “Her have I loved, and I have sought her
from my youth, and have desired to take her for my spouse, and I became a lover
of her beauty.” (Wisdom 8:2) “I purposed therefore to take her to me to live
with me, knowing that she will communicate to me of her good things, and will be
a comfort to me in my cares and griefs.” (Wisdom 8:9) “By means of her I shall
have immortality; and shall leave behind me an everlasting memory to them that
come after me.” (Wisdom 8:13)
But the infernal serpent
tried to rob his young soul of the pure delight he found in the love of the
Eternal Wisdom. “What folly,” he cunningly suggested, “what folly to love what
you have never seen! It is much wiser to possess a small but certain good than
to try to get what at best is doubtful. The Eternal Wisdom you so much long for
demands of her lovers that they become enemies of themselves, deprives them of
sleep, starves them, and destroys all their pleasures.” But Henry, already
enlightened and instructed in the maxims of heavenly wisdom, answered: “It is a
law of love that he who truly loves must suffer pain. See how much earthly
lovers undergo! ‘I have found a woman more bitter than death,’ said
Ecclesiastes, ‘she is the hunter’s snare, and her heart is a net, and her hands
are bands. He that pleaseth God shall escape from her, but he that is a sinner
shall be caught by her.'” (Eccles. 7:27)
Yet his heart, not yet
perfectly cleansed from things of earth, yearned to see the heavenly Bride he
had espoused; and God, in His fatherly goodness granted his desire. She appeared
to him, but afar off. Raised on a column of cloud, of majesty unutterable,
shining brighter than the morning sun, like a pure and charming virgin, she
gained his heart by her sweetness and pure attractions. He threw himself in
spirit at her feet, and cried out, “I have chosen you for my beloved, for the
queen of my heart.” Again and again was this vision vouchsafed him, and again
and again the Eternal Wisdom delighted his pure and virginal soul, and again
and again he chose her for his only love and the spouse of his heart.
He had a very great
devotion to the adorable name of Jesus. One day he took a sharp pointed knife
and pierced the holy name on his flesh above his heart, so that at every beat
he might, as it were, pronounce this holy name. And then, in a transport of
love, he cried out, “Ah Lord! my heart and soul’s only love! look now upon my
intense desire. Lord! I cannot imprint Thee any deeper in myself; but do Thou,
O Lord, I beseech Thee, complete the work, and imprint Thyself deep down into
my very inmost heart, and so inscribe Thy holy name that Thou mayest nevermore
depart from me.”
He kept this a secret,
and, except to one very intimate friend, revealed it to no one. Whenever he was
in any trouble he bared his breast and gazed on the Holy Name written there,
and cried out, “See, Lord, earthly lovers write their beloved’s name upon their
garments, but I have written Thee upon the fresh blood of my heart.” Once upon
a time he was wrapped into ecstasy, and saw a light stream forth from his heart
so brilliant that although he drew his cloak over it, he could not hide it. A
cross of gold appeared over his heart, and the Holy Name of Jesus sparkled from
jewels set upon it.
Many years afterwards, a
certain holy maiden saw in a vision the Blessed Virgin, holding a beautiful
candle in her hand which illumined the whole world. And all around the light
which streamed from the candle she saw the Holy Name of Jesus. And the Blessed
mother told her that her Divine Son had chosen Henry to spread devotion to His
Holy Name. This devout maiden wrote the Holy Name of Jesus on a small piece of
cloth like a scapular and always wore it near her heart. She also made many
like it, and persuaded Blessed Henry to bless them, and to lay them on his bare
breast. It was revealed to her that all who wore them, and said one “Our
Father” daily in honor of the Holy Name, would be beloved by God on earth, and
would find grace at the hour of death.
It was Blessed Henry’s
custom to salute Mary, the star of heaven, early in the morning, singing in his
soul a sweet canticle, in loving imitation of the birds that greet the rising
sun in the summer morn. And as he was doing so one morning he heard a melodious
voice singing these words: “Mary, star of the sea, has risen today;” and the
glorious Queen of Heaven said to him, “The more thou dost lovingly embrace me
on earth, the more tenderly I will embrace thee in heaven.”
Another morning, in
Carnival time, after spending the whole night in prayer, the angels sang to him
as the morn arose, “Arise and be illuminated, O Jerusalem.” (Isaias 61) This
chant caused such a joy in his heart that his frail body could not bear such a
strain, and the angels were forced to cease. The souls of the dead often
appeared to him and revealed to him the state they were in. Among them he saw
the soul of the celebrated mystical writer Echardt. He told Blessed Henry that
he was happy in heaven, inundated with joy, and all transformed in God. Henry
asked him to tell him the most efficacious method of arriving at perfect
beatitude. Echardt answered, “It is to die to one’s self by detachment; to
receive all that happens as if from the hands of God; and to be patient towards
all men, however selfish they may be.” Blessed Henry also asked him about the
mode in which holy souls rest in God, and was answered that no words could
explain it. From the soul of a Dominican Brother, John de Furcrer, he desired
to learn the greatest and most meritorious suffering the just can endure, and
was told: “It is when one finds one’s self abandoned by God, when one forgets
one’s self and bears this abandonment patiently, thus leaving God for God.”
Blessed Henry had a very
dear friend in whom he confided much, and to whom he revealed all his secrets,
even showing him the Holy Name of Jesus he had pierced over his heart. One day
they made an agreement that whoever survived should say two Masses every week
as long as he lived for his friend’s soul. Many years afterward the friend
died, when Blessed Henry, although he prayed for his soul every day, forgot his
promise to say the Masses. One morning, as he was praying in the choir, the
soul of his friend appeared to him, and said, “Alas, my friend! how soon you
have forgotten me.” Blessed Henry answered, “Nay, for I remember you daily in
my prayers.” The soul answered: “This is not sufficient; fulfil what you
promised about saying the Masses for me, so that the precious blood of Christ
may assuage the severity of the sufferings of purgatory, and in this way I may
soon become free.” Blessed Henry did so, and soon afterwards it was made known
to him that his friend was liberated from purgatory, and entered into heaven.
But it was not by visions
and spiritual graces alone that Blessed Henry became sanctified. Every action
of his life, no matter how small, was part of a continual worship of God, and
was rendered a means of uniting himself to his Creator, Whether he ate or
drank, or whatever he did, it was all for the honor of God. The life of a
conscientious religious, living in his quiet and peaceful cloister, is a series
of ordinary actions, beautified however and sanctified by a holy intention.
Blessed Henry has left us a record of how he spent his days and hours. The
catechism tells us that we can, nay ought, to make our ordinary actions, even our
eating and drinking holy; and in the life of this great servant of God we learn
how it may be done. At table Blessed Henry placed himself in spirit face to
face with Jesus, and imagined that his Divine Lord honored him by becoming his
guest. He turned the eyes of his soul unceasingly to Him as he ate, and often
bent his head towards Him on the side of His sacred heart. He offered to Him
his food and drink, begging him to bless them. When he quenched his thirst,
which he did very sparingly, he drank five times in honor of the five wounds of
our beloved Redeemer, dividing the last draught into two, in memory of the
double stream of water and blood which flowed from our Saviour’s side as he
hung on the cross. He digested every mouthful with some pious thought, but he
always ate the first and last piece in union with the heart most loving on
earth, and the most ardent seraphim in heaven, and besought God to penetrate
his soul with these two loves. When he found any food distasteful he hid it in
the bleeding heart of Jesus, and then courageously swallowed it.
His devotion to the holy
mother of God was one of the motive powers of his soul, and there are many
examples of the way he practised it. But there is one so characteristic that it
cannot be omitted. As he was out walking one day in the country he met a poor
woman, and the path being too narrow for both to pass at the same time he
stepped out of the way, although in order to do so he had to wet his feet. The
woman turned round and said, “How comes it that you, a priest, give way to a
poor woman like me, who ought rather to give way to you?” Blessed Henry
answered, “For the sake of the gentle Mother of God in heaven it is my custom
to pay deference to all women.” And the woman, lifting up her eyes and hands to
heaven, said, “May the Blessed Virgin not allow you to leave this life until
you have received some special grace from her whom you honor in us women.” And
he answered, “May the pure maiden and Mother Mary in heaven, grant me this.”
Blessed Henry has left us
in his autobiography a beautiful example of the way in which we can celebrate
the feasts of the great mysteries of our holy religion. For the feast of the
Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary he prepared himself three days in
advance to receive her in the temple. He burnt a triple candle on those three
days in honor of her virginity, humility, and motherhood, and said the
“Magnificat” three times each day. On the morning of the feast, before the
people came to the church, he prostrated himself in front of the high altar,
and there meditated on the glories of Mary at that time when she carried her
Divine Son into the temple. Then in spirit he called upon all pious souls to
sing the hymn “Inviolata” with her at the door of the temple. At the last words
he prayed Mary to have compassion on him, and then rose and followed her to the
altar, carrying a candle in his hands. When Mary offered her Divine Son to
Simeon, he humbly asked her to show him her dear child, and to trust the Babe
to him for a moment. At last he returned the child to its mother, and remained
in spirit with her until all was accomplished.
He kept two carnivals:
one by meditation on the folly of those who purchase for themselves an eternity
of misery by indulging in sinful pleasure, and he said the “Miserere as an act
of reparation for all the dishonor offered to God in the carnival time. The
other was a carnival of holy delight, in which he made merry with God, and
became full of joy when he thought of heaven. As a reward for his piety God granted
him an ecstasy, in which he heard the melodious voice of a youth of twelve,
singing so sweetly that no human voice could compare with it. When the song
ended, the youth, although invisible, presented Blessed Henry with a basket of
delicious fruit like strawberries. Afterwards, at Henry’s earnest desire he
made himself visible: it was our Divine Lord Himself. He looked at Henry very
affectionately, blessed him and then disappeared.
In the month of May, when
young people carried boughs of blossom, singing and dancing, Henry chose the
Holy Cross for his May bough, thinking that neither the fields nor the forests
could produce so beautiful a tree, nor one so laden with fruit or flowers. And
as he carried the cross for a May bough he sang the beautiful Latin hymn from
the office of the church, “Salve Crux,” “Hail, O holy cross! hail, glory of the
world!” adding, “Hail, heavenly tree of eternal salvation, on which ripens the
fruit of wisdom!”
In the beginning of his
turning to God with all his heart he was favored with many heavenly
consolations, but after a while God warned him that he could not reach heaven
except by walking on the rough way of the cross. From that time he retired
every morning into a corner of the chapter room, to meditate on the Passion of his
Divine Saviour. Commencing at the last supper he followed his Lord from one
place to another, attending at his judgment, carrying His cross like Simon of
Cyrene, and kneeling to kiss the bloody footmarks of his suffering God. He
reflected that he ought, after the example of Jesus, to be ready to give up
everything for God; his friends, his goods, and enjoyments; and that he ought
to trample all honors under his feet. When he saw our Divine Lord given up to
death he saluted the divine victim, and asked the grace to die with Him. Then
he turned his thoughts to the Blessed Mother, who made so great a sacrifice for
us, and after her sad farewell to her Divine Son hanging on the cross, he
tenderly consoled her, and led her back to her home.
Meditation on the Passion
of Jesus made him practise most rigorous mortifications and penances. He began
by restraining his tongue, the most difficult penance one can perform. He
observed the law of silence enjoined by the Dominican rule, and for thirty
years never spoke at table even outside the monastery except once, when he
dined on board a ship. When called to the guest rooms he received every one
kindly, but quickly dismissed them, and having sent them away consoled, he
gladly returned to his cell. He wore an iron chain and a hair shirt, which
later on in life he replaced by one made of cords, in which he fastened a
hundred and fifty iron points, so sharp that his body became covered with
wounds. Before he went to sleep he tied his arms with thongs of leather, and
fastened them with a padlock; but after some time he left his hands free, and
wore gloves covered with iron points; thus his hands were like bears’ paws,
that scratched him if he touched himself while asleep. He also wore a wooden
cross on his shoulders, in which he placed thirty nails, in honor of the wounds
and bruises our Lord suffered for us. He disciplined himself with a severity
greater than a bitter enemy could have shown him. His bed was a door on which
he spread an old mat, only long enough to reach his knees, and his bolster was
a sack of oats. He usually lay down to sleep clothed just as he was in the
daytime, and with all his instruments of penance upon him. For twenty-five
years he never went near a fire. He took only one meal a day, ate neither fish nor
eggs, contenting himself with bread, beans, and fruits. He drank wine only once
a year, on Easter Sunday, took but very little water, and then only at dinner,
no matter how thirsty he became. This he found his greatest penance. One day,
suffering much from thirst, he heard an interior voice saying, “Remember how
terrible was My thirst when I hung on the cross. Although I am the creator of
all the fountains of cool water I could only obtain gall and vinegar to quench
My thirst. Bear then patiently the thirst you now feel if you wish to follow in
My footsteps.”
When he had practised all
these penances for twenty years, God commanded him to abandon them and to enter
into a more perfect way, the way of spiritual sufferings. “I wish,” said our
Saviour to him, “to show you three crosses I have prepared for you. The first
will be this. Heretofore you have struck yourself with your own hands, and
ceased when you took pity on yourself. Now you will be in the hands of others,
without power to defend yourself. Moreover you will lose the esteem of many,
and this will be more painful than the cross full of nails you wore on your
back. You have been admired for your mortifications, henceforth you will be
despised and turned into ridicule by every one. The second cross will be this.
Although you have born many cruel mortifications you have kept your kind and
loving heart, and have met with affection from very many But just where you
have found confidence, esteem, and love you will meet with great
unfaithfulness; and all those who continue true to you will have to suffer for
it. And the last cross will be this. Until now you have been like a child at
the breast, and have swum in divine sweetness like a fish in the ocean. I will
withdraw my graces and consolations; you will be abandoned by God and man,
tormented by your friends as well as by your enemies, and everything you will
seek to console yourself with will turn against you.
But when Blessed Henry,
hearing these words began to tremble, a voice within him said, “Take courage!
for I will be with you, and make you victorious in all your combats.” Still,
when injured by his own friends he often became discouraged. On one of these
occasions he heard this reproach in the centre of his soul: “Did I turn
away my head when men injured Me and spat in My face?” Then he went to find
those who had ill-treated him, and spoke sweetly to them. The heaviest
temptations he had to bear were those against faith, the deep sadness he felt
for eight years, and the fear that after all he would be damned.
God did not wish that
this holy and fervent man should hide his talents in obscurity He sent him to
labor for the salvation of souls, but tried him as before in the crucible of
suffering In the town of Constance there was a crucifix of the exact size, it
was said, of our Divine Lord. One day during Lent fresh blood was seen to fall
from the wound in the side. Blessed Henry went to see it, and took some of the
blood on his finger to examine it. The bystanders asked his opinion whether it
was a true miracle. He said he could not decide. Then his enemies spread about
the report that he had cut his finger and pretended that the blood had come
from the crucifix, to gain money from the people. This calumny spread abroad
into the whole country. The inhabitants of Constance became embittered against
him, and for fear of his life he was obliged to flee in the darkness of the
night. His enemies offered a large reward to any one who would take him, alive
or dead. When any of his friends dared to defend him they were quickly
silenced, and they thought it prudent to hold their peace. A pious lady of the
city advised him to draw up a legal document asserting his innocence, but he
said, “Good lady! if I had no more to suffer than this I would willingly do
what you advise; but I prefer to trust myself to God alone, for my whole life
is one long suffering.”
When he went to the
Netherlands to assist at a chapter of the order he found a new cross awaiting
him. He was formally accused before his superiors of having written books full
of heretical doctrine, and was severely reprimanded, and threatened with
punishment, although he was entirely innocent. Yet more was in store for him.
On his way back he was seized with a violent fever. An abscess formed near his
heart, and his state became so grave that his companions believed that he was
on the point of death.
One night, which he
passed in a strange monastery, he could not sleep for thinking of his sorrows,
and lovingly complained to God. And it seemed to him that his cell became
filled with legions of angels who sang sweet songs to console him; and as they
sang one angel came near him and said, “Why do you not sing with us?” Sighing,
Blessed Henry made answer, “Do you not know how much I am suffering? did you
ever know a dying man to sing? Formerly I did sing, and joyfully too, but now
all I wish for is to die.” The angel answered, “Be strong and do manfully. You
will not die yet, you will live, and then you will sing such a song that God
will be glorified by it, and many a sufferer will be consoled.” In a moment
Blessed Henry’s eyes were filled with tears, the abscess opened, and he was
cured.
But another bitter trial
befell him. His sister, a nun, led away by love for company, fell into grievous
sin, and overcome by shame fled from her convent. On his return Blessed Henry
was told of it, and went about as if out of his mind. He asked advice from the
Fathers, who all repulsed him, and seemed as if ashamed of him. He did not lose
courage however, and set off to search for the lost sheep and found her in a
cottage. When he saw her he fell fainting at her feet, from emotion; but having
come to himself again, he embraced her and conjured her to abandon her sin, and
by his kind and loving entreaties led her back again to a convent of strict
observance, where by penance and prayer she made amends for the scandal she had
given, led a saintly life, and died a holy death.
In truth, he had so many
crosses to bear, and so much to suffer that when they ceased for a time, as
sometimes happened, he used to say that all was going badly with him.
One day as he was
praying, he begged God to make known to him what special graces are granted to
those who suffer much for His sake. He was answered in a vision, “Learn that
all my servants who are dead to themselves and risen again with me, enjoy three
special graces: First, All they wish for I grant to their prayers. Second, I
give them an inward peace which neither angels nor men can take from them. The
last grace is an abundance of sweetness and divine caresses, so that they
become one with Me.”
On account of his eminent
wisdom, great virtue, and a particular gift of converting sinners he was sent
to preach in Germany. He became one of the most celebrated preachers of his
time. His powerful words moved every heart, turned the most vicious from their
evil ways, and persuaded them to embrace a virtuous life. Touron, in his “Lives
of celebrated Dominicans,” says that Blessed Henry preached thirty-seven years,
from 1328 to 1365. God granted him the grace of working miracles during his
apostolic missions. Preaching one day at Cologne his face became thrice as
brilliant as the sun, and all who saw it were filled with astonishment. He
restored a number of sick people to perfect health, for every grace he asked
from God was granted. But he did not enjoy the pure delights of the apostolate
without experiencing his usual trials. Having learnt that a woman who was under
his spiritual direction, whom he believed he had converted from an evil life,
was secretly continuing her sinful course, he felt obliged to discontinue
giving her alms as he had formerly done. This wicked woman then publicly
declared that Blessed Henry was father to her child. One of his friends took
the child to him: he received it into his arms. The babe smiled at him: he
caressed it and said, “Poor child! your father will not acknowledge you, and
your cruel mother has abandoned you. God wishes me to be a father to you; I am
glad to obey. You shall be God’s child and mine. May God bless you! may the
angels protect you! for God’s honor I will do all I can for you.” And he
adopted it from that day. In course of time the wicked mother, ashamed of
herself, went away. Nevertheless the calumny was believed. The Master General
of the order heard of it, and this was Blessed Henry’s cruelest suffering. He
was tempted to despair, and began to complain to the tender heart of Jesus, who
in due time made his innocence known. The wicked woman came to an evil end, and
those who had believed the calumny and had persecuted him died without the
sacraments. Among his enemies was a prelate, whose soul appeared after death to
Blessed Henry and told him that God had taken him from earth on this account,
and that he had to suffer a long time in purgatory for having persecuted him.
He was once elected
Prior. This is an office full of grave responsibility; but as the monastery was
heavily burdened with debt it was more especially so at that time. In the first
chapter he held he declared that all must confide in the promise made by Saint
Dominic as he was dying, never to abandon his children in their needs. He
ordered special prayers to be said, and a Mass sung next day in honor of Saint
Dominic. Some of the Fathers murmured, and one said, “See what a foolish man
this Prior is! Does he imagine that God will send down meat and drink from
heaven The Father to whom he spoke said, “He is not the only fool. We are all
fools for having elected him Prior, though we well knew that he does nothing
but gape up to heaven.” The next morning while the Mass was being sung, a pious
canon, one of Blessed Henry’s friends, came to the monastery and gave him a
large sum of money; and during the whole time he was Prior the community wanted
for nothing, and the debt was completely cleared off.
After having labored
holily in the service of God’s holy church; having made meditation on the
passion and death of Christ his daily task; having loved God with the purest
and most disinterested love; borne solitude, fasting, penances, and
temptations; having been defamed and slandered by everyone, friends as well as
enemies; having, in one word, been conformed to the crucified figure of his
Saviour, Blessed Henry, despising life and all on fire with desire of heaven,
died, in the midst of universal regret, in the monastery of Saint Paul in Ulm,
rich in merits and fortified with all the sacraments of the church, 25 January
1365.
His holy body was buried
in the cloister of the same monastery, and many miracles were worked there. The
Dominican Order asked his canonization at the same time that it petitioned that
of Saint Thomas Aquinas. In the year 1613, two hundred and forty years after
his death, some laborers digging the foundations of a new building, found his
body, clothed in the habit of the order, incorrupt, and emitting a sweet smell.
The Burgomaster ordered the tomb to be closed, and all trace of it has been
lost. But, while the workmen were absent, a devout person descended into the
tomb and cut off some pieces from the cappa and scapular, and for many years
these holy relics were piously preserved. Pope Gregory XVI gave permission to
the Dominican Order to keep his feast on the second day of March every year.
Blessed Henry wrote
several very valuable spiritual works, which are held in the highest esteem.
The principal one, which was as well known in the middle ages as the “Imitation
of Christ” is in our times, is the “Little Book of Eternal Wisdom,” formally
called, “The Clock of Eternal Wisdom.” It is a collection of delightful
teachings on the various phases of spiritual life. He also wrote a “Treatise bn
the Union of the Soul with God,” “The Colloquy of the Seven Rocks,” in
allegorical form, some “Spiritual Discourses,” “Meditations on the Three Hours
of Agony,” “A soliloquy on the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on the
dolours of Jesus and Mary,” “A Spiritual Exercise on the Eternal Wisdom,”
“Sentences from the Holy Fathers,” and the “Office of the Eternal Wisdom.” His
letters have also been collected and published. The writings of his spiritual
daughter, Sister Elizabeth Staglin, of the convent of Saint Dominic of Thoecz,
near Winterhiir are extant. They consist of his life, written by himself, and
other remembrances of him. All his works, except the “Little Book of Eternal
Wisdom” were written in German; that he wrote in Latin. They have been translated
into Latin, French, Italian, and some of them into English. Surius says of
them, “I have read many books which lead sinners to shed tears for their sins
and cause them sincerely to repent, but I have never found any among them which
so powerfully excite the heart to higher perfection of the spiritual life, nor
so calculated to touch the hardest hearts, as those of Blessed Henry Suso,
provided that one reads them carefully.
Prayer
Ant. All wisdom is
from the Lord God, and hath ever been with Him, and is before all time.
V. Pray for us, O
Blessed Henry.
R. That we may be
made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray,
O God, who didst make
Blessed Henry, Thy confessor, wonderful for charity and bodily mortification,
grant that in all our works we may have the marks of the crucified Christ upon
us, and ever bear his love in our hearts. Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
MLA
Citation
Father Thomas Austin
Dyson, O.P. “Blessed
Henry Suso”. Stars
in Saint Dominic’s Crown, 1897. CatholicSaints.Info.
25 June 2022. Web. 20 December 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/stars-in-saint-dominics-crown-blessed-henry-suso/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/stars-in-saint-dominics-crown-blessed-henry-suso/
DOMINICAN OP, INCORRUPTIBLES, SAINT of the DAY
Saint of the Day – 23
January – Blessed Henry Suso OP (1295-1366)
Posted on January
23, 2019
Saint of the Day – 23
January – Blessed Henry Suso OP (1295-1366) Henry (also called Amandus, a
name adopted in his writings and Heinrich Seuse in German), was a German
Dominican Priest and Friar and the most popular vernacular writer of the
fourteenth century. Suso is thought to have been born on 21 March
1295. An important author in both Latin and Middle High German, he
is also notable for defending Meister Eckhart’s legacy after Eckhart was
posthumously condemned for heresy in 1329. He died in Ulm on 25
January 1366 and was Beatified 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI. Blessed Henry was a
Priest, Preacher, Writer, Poet, Mystic. His body is incorrupt.
Henry was born in
Switzerland—hence the epithet “Suso,” or “Swiss”—in 1290. The
gentle Henry was a great disappointment to his military family.
Gifted with a deep awareness of God’s presence within him and drawn to a
life of prayer, at the age of thirteen, he entered the Dominican convent at
Lake Constance near the Alps on the Swiss-German border. His
Dominican formation developed and matured his natural contemplative gifts,
giving his prayer an outlet in a joyful zeal to share its fruits with
others. Once ordained, he travelled constantly and widely,
preaching and hearing confessions.
Bl Henry Suso is known in
the Order for his gentleness and slight eccentricity. For example,
he once erected a Maypole and danced around it in a joyful display of
uninhibited love for the Lord. He used to call his beloved
crucified Lord “God’s Eternal Wisdom”, which indeed Christ is.
Although in his lifetime Blessed Henry suffered much and was not renowned
for being a great theologian or preacher, the manuscripts surviving of his
writings suggest he was the most widely read spiritual author in the later
Middle Ages until the publication of the Imitatio Christi.
Henry wrote the spiritual classic The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom,
or The Exemplar. He had a very strong devotion to
Christ’s passion and crucifixion and speaks of it in very human terms. This
makes him and especially his Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, ideal reading and
material for meditation during Lent. In many images you will
see him writing the name of Jesus under his heart – it is believed that he
really did ‘tattoo’ himself in this way.
From his teens, Henry had
imposed severe penances on himself. However, his greatest
sufferings were not of his own making. In his innocence, he was
constantly misunderstood and taken advantage of. On one preaching
tour, Henry was victim of the deceit of his lay companion, who lied about
Henry’s poisoning a well in the town. The story was believed and
Henry was almost clubbed to death. In another situation, which
found him in the middle of disputes between feuding families, he was falsely
accused by a woman from one of them as being the father of her child.
Henry was a contemporary
of John Tauler OP and Master Eckhart, Dominican theological writers of the
Rhineland Mystics of Germany in the fourteenth century. Henry
complemented their theology with his beautiful devotional poetry.
He died in Ulm, near
Bavaria, in 1365. His body was later found incorrupt and emitting a
fragrance reminiscent of that of his Holy Father Dominic 150 years before.
Suso was esteemed as a
preacher and was heard in the cities and towns of Swabia, Switzerland, Alsace
and the Netherlands. His apostolate, however, was not with the
masses but rather with individuals of all classes who were drawn to him by his
singularly attractive personality and to whom he became a personal director in
the spiritual life.
The words of the Christmas Hymn “In dulci jubilo” are attributed to Suso. In his biography (or perhaps autobiography), it was written:
Now this same angel came up to the Servant (Suso) brightly and said that God
had sent him down to him, to bring him heavenly joys amid his sufferings,
adding that he must cast off all his sorrows from his mind and bear them
company and that he must also dance with them in heavenly fashion.
Then they drew the Servant by the hand into the dance and the youth began
a joyous song about the infant Jesus ..:
Author: AnaStpaul
Passionate Catholic.
Being a Catholic is a way of life - a love affair "Religion must be like
the air we breathe..."- St John Bosco Prayer is what the world needs
combined with the example of our lives which testify to the Light of Christ.
This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate
on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in
Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church
provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions. This Site is placed under the
Patronage of my many favourite Saints and especially, St Paul. "For the
Saints are sent to us by God as so many sermons. We do not use them, it is they
who move us and lead us, to where we had not expected to go.” Charles Cardinal
Journet (1891-1975) This site adheres to the pre-Vatican II Catholic Church and
all her teachings. . PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY GLARING TYPOS etc - In June 2021 I
lost 100% sight in my left eye and sometimes miss errors. Thank you and I pray
all those who visit here will be abundantly blessed. Pax et bonum!
SOURCE : https://anastpaul.com/2019/01/23/saint-of-the-day-blessed-henry-suso-op-1295-1366/
Beato Enrico Suso
(Susone) Domenicano
Uberlingen, Germania, 21
marzo 1295 - Ulm, 25 gennaio 1366
Nacque il 21 marzo di un
anno tra il 1293 e il 1303 a Costanza e secondo notizie pervenutaci del 1512,
ebbe come padre il nobile von Berg commerciante, di sentimenti non religiosi e
come madre una Seuse di Uberlingen; Enrico prese il nome della madre. A tredici
anni entrò in convento. Ripresosi da un periodo di fede incerta, divenne famoso
per la sua vita penitente, e insieme a Maestro Eckart e a Giovanni Taulero fu
uno dei maestri della scuola di spiritualità domenicana «dei mistici renani».
Del suo intimo colloquio con l'«Eterna Sapienza» restano testimonianze nelle
sue opere che - come il «Libro della Verità», il «Libro dell'Eterna Sapienza» e
l'«Orologio della Sapienza» - hanno lasciato una notevole impronta nella
spiritualità cristiana. Fu instancabile predicatore del Nome di Gesù, che si
era impresso sul petto con un ferro rovente. Morì a Ulma, ma le sue reliquie
furono disperse nel XVI secolo dai protestanti. Il suo culto fu confermato da
papa Gregorio XVI nel 1831. (Avv.)
Etimologia: Enrico =
possente in patria, dal tedesco
Martirologio
Romano: A Ulm nella Svevia in Germania, beato Enrico Suso, sacerdote
dell’Ordine dei Predicatori, che sopportò pazientemente innumerevoli difficoltà
e malattie, scrisse un trattato sull’eterna sapienza e predicò con assiduità il
dolcissimo nome di Gesù.
Il 16 aprile 1831 papa
Gregorio XVI confermò con decreto, l’approvazione del culto del beato Enrico
Suso (Seuse) da secoli considerato tale dall’Ordine Domenicano, da filosofi,
teologi e dalla Chiesa tedesca.
Nacque il 21 marzo di un
anno tra il 1293 e il 1303 a Costanza e secondo notizie pervenutaci del 1512,
ebbe come padre il nobile von Berg commerciante, di sentimenti non religiosi e
come madre una Seuse di Uberlingen donna piissima, Enrico prese il nome della
madre.
A 13 anni entrò nel
monastero dei domenicani di s. Nicola sull’isola di Costanza, dove perfezionò
gli studi umanistici e seguì la vita regolare del monastero. A 18 anni ebbe una
visione della Sapienza eterna di cui divenne fervente apostolo, fu chiamato per
questo Amandus, cominciò così una vita d’intensa preghiera, penitenza e unione
con Dio, volle incidersi sul petto il monogramma IHS quale segno di totale
appartenenza a Cristo.
Studiò filosofia in vari
conventi e teologia nella casa principale di Colonia dove ebbe occasione di
ascoltare “le dolci dottrine del santo Maestro Eckhart”. Venne coinvolto nel
processo per eresia che fu intentato contro Eckhart, fondatore della mistica
speculativa tedesca, e dovette discolparsi anche lui davanti ad un capitolo
dell’Ordine Domenicano tenutosi ad Anversa nel 1327.
Nel 1330 lasciò le sue
pesanti penitenze e l’isolamento e si dedicò allo scrivere e al ministero delle
anime, rivelando la sua dottrina e le sue esperienze spirituali. Si spostò da
Costanza alla Svizzera, alla Renania, all’Alsazia; e nel monastero delle
domenicane di Toss, trovò in Elisabetta Stagel di Zurigo, una pia e saggia
raccoglitrice dei suoi racconti e insegnamenti.
A seguito della lotta fra
il papa avignonese Giovanni XXII e Lodovico il Bavaro, una parte dei domenicani
lasciò Costanza e con essi Enrico Suso, era ancora esule quando nel 1343
imperversò la carestia e lui come priore dei frati esuli, dovette provvedere al
necessario per tutti.
Nel 1348 rientrò a
Costanza dove fu gravemente calunniato da una giovane donna, dovette
trasferirsi in un altro convento e se pur gli fu riconosciuta la sua innocenza,
non tornò più a Costanza. Dal 1348 a Ulma continuò il suo ministero delle
anime, nel 1362-63 redasse l’Exemplar che contiene la gran parte dei suoi
scritti in tedesco. Morì il 25 gennaio 1366.
Grande filosofo tedesco,
fu il discepolo più fedele del Maestro Eckhart, è considerato il più amabile
dei mistici germanici e forse di tutti i mistici, dote che corrispondeva al suo
carattere, egli vuole essere compreso dal cuore, Enrico Suso dice che
l’altissimo grado di vita spirituale consiste nell’unione con Dio in visione,
amore e gaudio inesprimibile, e compendia così l’unica via che conduce a Dio:
deporre la forma creata, formarsi con Cristo, trasformarsi in Dio.
Scrisse il “Libriccino
della verità”, il “Libriccino della Sapienza eterna”, l’”Horologium sapientae”,
il “Libro delle lettere” con 11 epistole e altre opere ascetiche e religiose.
Fu nei Paesi d’Oltrealpe l’autore più letto prima dell’avvento dell’”Imitazione
di Cristo”.
Il beato non fu sepolto
nella comune fossa dei frati, ma deposto nella chiesa del convento di Ulma;
fino al 1531 davanti alla sua tomba ardeva da secoli una lampada e una lapide
attestava il culto a lui dedicato.
Tanti santi si sono a lui
ispirati nella ricerca della spiritualità eletta; è rappresentato in tantissime
opere d’arte di artisti insigni, una sua statua fa parte del gruppo della
Madonna del Rosario col Bambino posto sul campanile della Suso-Kirche in Ulma.
Autore: Antonio
Borrelli
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/38675.html
Heinrich
Seuse / Henri Suso / Henry Suso. Via Mystica (ed. Karl Bihlmeyer,
Stuttgart 1907, p. 195)
Den salige Henrik Seuse
(~1295-1366)
Minnedag:
23. januar
Den salige Henrik Seuse
(lat: Henricus Suso) ble født som Heinrich von Berg den 21. mars rundt 1295 i
Bihlmeyer ved Konstanz i Schwaben i Tyskland.
[Helligkåringskongregasjonens Index ac status causarum skriver at han
ble født rundt 1300 og Butler's Lives of the Saints skriver rundt
1298.] Han var sønn av den utsvevende schwabiske ridderen Henrik von Berg.
Allerede som ung gutt tok han navnet Seuse etter moren, som var fra familien
Sus (eller Süs). Hun hadde stor innflytelse på ham, og fra henne arvet han et
ytterst følsomt sinn og en tilbøyelighet til sentimentalitet.
I en alder av tretten år
trådte Henrik i 1308 inn hos dominikanerne (Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum –
OP) i Konstanz, etter fem år hadde han sin første visjon. Denne opplevelsen
kalte han sin «omvendelse». Etter innledende studier i Konstanz og Strasbourg
og etter sin løfteavleggelse ble han i 1322 sendt til Köln for sitt Studium
generale. Der var minnet om de hellige Albert den Store og Thomas Aquinas fortsatt
levende, og hans lærer på ordenshøyskolen mellom 1322 og 1325 var Mester
Eckhart, og han er mesterens mest kjente disippel. Henrik æret sin gamle lærer
hele sitt liv, og da Inkvisisjonen mistenkte ham for kjetteri, skrev Henrik
rundt 1326 boken Büchlein der Wahrheit, «En liten bok om sannheten», til
forsvar for Mester Eckharts mystikk. En av Henriks medelever i Köln var
muligens mystikeren Johannes Tauler, men dette er omstridt.
Etter studiene vendte
Henrik tilbake til klosteret i Konstanz, hvor han i mange år som lektor ledet
sine medbrødres vitenskapelige utdannelse. Han avslo den verdigheten han ble
tilbudt som magister i Paris. For sitt forsvar av Mester Eckhart måtte han selv
forsvare seg på et generalkapittel i dominikanerorden i Maastricht eller
Utrecht i Nederland i 1330, etter at Mester Eckhart var fordømt av pave
Johannes XXII (1316-34) i 1329. Henrik ble fordømt av sine overordnede og ble
fratatt sin undervisningspost. I striden mellom paven og Ludvig av Bayern tok
dominikanerne pavens side, og de ble derfor utvist fra Konstanz. Deres eksil
var i Dießenhofen, og Henrik var flere ganger prior der, første gang i 1343.
Henriks mest kjente bok
er Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit, «En liten bok om den evige visdom»,
skrevet rundt 1327/28. Han bearbeidet den også til latin under navnet Horologium
sapientiae, «Visdommens klokke». Den ble så flittig skrevet av at nesten alle
tyske håndsskriftsamlinger har et eksemplar av den, og den utgis fortsatt. Den
er en av middelalderens mest leste oppbyggelsesbøker og var den mest populære
til Thomas à Kempis skrev «Om Kristi etterfølgelse».
Fra sitt attende til sitt
førtiende leveår utøvde Henrik den strengeste selvpining, som for oss er helt
ubegripelig. En gang da han av hele sin sjel lengtet etter «et uutslettelig
tegn på kjærligheten mellom ham og Kristus», brente han inn i sitt eget bryst
med glødende jern monogrammet for navnet Jesus Kristus, IHS (Iesus hominum
Salvator: Jesus menneskenes frelser). Da sårene til slutt var leget, bar
han IHS over hjertet helt til sin død. Ved å se på det kunne han tåle all
selvpining, motgang og sorger.
Han bar jernkjetting på
kroppen, pisket seg så blodet strømmet, og gned inn sårene med eddik og salt.
Natt og dag bar han en skjorte av hestetagl hvor han hadde sydd inn remmer med
150 skarpe spiker i, og om kvelden når han gikk til sengs, tok han på seg
lærhansker med skarpe messingstifter. Med dem rev han i søvne dype sår i
kroppen. For bestandig å holde sine tanker rettet mot Kristi lidelser laget han
et trekors, som han slo en mengde spiker i slik at spissene stakk frem. Dette
korset bandt han på ryggen mellom skuldrene med jerntaggene mot kroppen. Og så
snart han ble fristet til å begå en synd eller bryte ordensreglene, slo han med
knyttneven i korset slik at spikrene trengte seg inn i kjøttet og blodet rant
nedover ryggen hans. Han nektet seg mat og drikke helt til hendene skalv av
kraftløshet og tungen klebet seg til ganen. Selv i vinterkulden sov han rett på
det nakne gulvet i et rom som ikke var oppvarmet, med en dør til seng og oppå
den en tynn matte. De visjonene og ekstasene som ble ham til del, anså Henrik
som den største belønning.
Slik pinte Henrik seg til
kjødet ble en lydig tjener for ånden. Han var blitt førti år før han kom så
langt. Kroppen hans var da i den grad pint og utmagret at «det ikke lenger var
noe valg mellom å dø eller slutte med øvelsene». Da fikk han en åpenbaring fra
Gud; Han så en edel yngling komme ned fra det høye og hørte ham si: «Du har nå
lenge nok gått i den lave skolen og er blitt moden for den høye». Og på Henrik
spørsmål om hva den høye skolen er, fikk han svar i sin kjære lærers ånd: «For
alltid å oppgi sin egen vilje».
Siden fulgte en tid med
angst og anfektelse før han til slutt ble klar over at hans livsoppgave var å
være sjelesørger og forkynner. Og så gikk han ut i verden for å «finne de
bortkomne og føre de forvillede tilbake». Han forkynte og virket i Rhindalens
øvre områder, men også så langt nordover som til dagens Nederland. Fra rundt
1335 virket Henrik som sjelesørger, fremfor alt i dominikanerklostre og den
åndelige foreningen Gottesfreunde, «Gudsvenner». Hans innflytelse var
spesielt sterk i mange kvinneklostre, spesielt dominikanerinneklosteret
Katherinenthal, et kjent arnested for mystisisme på 12- og 1300-tallet, og i
Toss, hvor dominikanersøsteren og mystikeren Elsbeth Stägel (d. 1360) levde.
Hun var hans åndelige datter og oversatte noen av hans latinske verker til tysk
og samlet de fleste av hans bevarte brev. Hun overtalte ham til å fortelle
historien om sitt liv, som han selv senere bearbeidet og publiserte. Dette er
den første kjente åndelige selvbiografien på tysk. Det der imidlertid delte
meninger om i hvor stor grad hans påståtte selvbiografi, Das Minnebüchlein,
er autentisk.
Den karismaen som gikk ut
fra Henrik, ble beundret overalt, og han er en av de mest kjente tyske
mystikerne. Hans følsomme personlighet gjorde ham fremfor alt velegnet til
sjelesørger for kvinner. Uten å gå trett virket han for å redde moralsk
villfarne kvinner, blant dem også sin egen søster. Hun hadde gått i kloster som
ham selv, men siden trådt ut for å leve et syndefullt liv. Det synes som om
Henrik lyktes i å føre henne tilbake til Gud.
Men en av kvinnene lønnet
sin sjelesørger med å beskylde ham for et utilbørlig forhold til henne. Den
lettferdige kvinnen hadde gjort bot og bedring, og uten å ane noe ondt hadde
Henrik tatt seg av henne og hjulpet henne på alle måter. Men en dag fikk han
greie på at hun lurte ham og fortsatte sitt utuktige liv. Da trakk han seg
tilbake og inndro den understøttelse han hadde gitt henne. Hun hevnet seg ved å
spre ut rykte om at hennes sjelesørger og velgjører var far til det barnet hun
ventet. Det var en forferdelig opplevelse for Henrik å merke hvordan menneskene
vendte seg fra ham som fra en bedrager, ja, hvordan tidligere venner hånte og
foraktet ham. Alt hva han hadde lidt før, var ingen ting mot dette: å miste
heder og ære og se hele sitt livsverk ødelagt. Han kjente det som om Gud hadde
forlatt ham, og var nær ved å bli gal av fortvilelse.
Men da alt så håpløst ut,
og han bare ønsket seg døden, da lysnet det. De mer klartseende begynte å
forstå at den stakkars Henrik hadde vært offer for løgn og baktalelse,
dominikanernes ledende menn foretok en undersøkelse som ga uimotsigelige bevis
for at han var uskyldig, og Henrik fikk sitt gode navn og rykte tilbake. Nå
«priste han av hele sitt hjerte Gud som av kjærlighet hadde tuktet sitt barn,
og sa at han ikke for alt i verden ville ha vært spart for disse lidelsene».
Gjennom det han selv hadde opplevd, hadde han fått evnen til å gi trøst og
livsmot til ulykkelige mennesker, ja, også til dem som i fortvilelse var nær
ved å ta sitt eget liv. Når de klaget: «Ingen kan lide så grenseløse kvaler som
jeg,» så utla han for dem alt hva Jesus hadde lidt, og lærte dem å fordype seg
i medfølelse med den Korsfestedes navnløse kval, slik at deres egne lidelser
syntes ubetydelige og mistet taket på dem. Uforstyrret av baktalelsens onde
makter fikk Henrik heretter til livets siste stund fortsette sin
selvoppofrende, velsignelsesrike virksomhet.
Men Henrik Suso hadde
fortsatt mange fiender, ikke minst innen sin egen orden. Da et barn anklaget
ham for tyveri og vanhelligelse, foretrakk noen å tro på barnet. Han tok inn et
forlatt barn, og ble straks beskyldt for å være dets far. Han ble beskyldt for
å foreskrive gift og for å late som om han utførte mirakler. En dag, etter at
han hadde sett en hund leke med et stykke tøy, skrev han:
«Jeg tenkte: Ta det til
etterretning. Dette tøystykket lar seg selv bli mishandlet av hunden som den
vil. Så tenkte jeg: Du må gjøre det samme. Enten en person narrer deg eller
ydmyker deg, ta imot det vennlig. Til og med hvis noen spytter på deg, finn deg
i det.»
Deretter tok han
tøystykket og la det på sin stol i sitt lille kapell, som en påminner om
ydmykhetens ideal. Etter tallrike bakvaskelser ble han til slutt i 1348 flyttet
til Ulm i Baden-Württemberg, hvor dominikanerne var vendt tilbake etter Ludvig
av Bayerns død i 1347.
I Ulm skrev Henrik
historien om sitt indre liv (Vita eller Leben Seuses), han reviderte Büchlein
der Wahrheit og Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit, som sammen med elleve
av hans brev, Briefbüchlein, og en prolog ble satt sammen til én
bok, Exemplar Seuses. Ved siden av de nevnte bøkene er det også bevart fem
prekener og en samling av 28 av hans brev (Grosses Briefbuch). Fra alle
disse kildene sammenstilte Elsbeth Stägel etter hans død boken Vita
Susonis – «Seuses liv». Hans åndelige lære kan sammenfattes slik: «En
ydmyk og tålmodig kristen må først løse seg fra alt skapt, for å kunne bli lik
Kristus og omskapes til Guds avbilde».
Henrik Seuse døde den 25.
januar 1366 i Ulm, 70 år gammel. Han ble bisatt i dominikanerkirken i Ulm.
Under byggearbeider der i 1613 ble hans legeme funnet like friskt. Han ble
saligkåret den 22. april 1831 ved at hans kult ble stadfestet av pave Gregor
XVI (1831-46). Hans minnedag er 23. januar, fordi dødsdagen 25. januar er
opptatt av festen for apostelen Paulus' omvendelse.
I noen bøker står han oppført med minnedag 2. mars, som ble foreskrevet for
dominikanerordenen av pave Gregor XVI ved saligkåringen.
Henrik Seuse avbildes i
dominikanerdrakt, og hans vanligste attributter er tornekrans som tegn på
selvpinsler eller Jesu navns monogram og en krans av roser som symbol på
smertefull kjærlighet. Ofte har han også en hund ved sin side, som bærer et
rødt tøystykke eller en lilje i munnen.
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Bentley, Benedictines, Delaney, Bunson, Grimberg, Engelhart,
Schnitzler, Schauber/Schindler, Melchers, Dammer/Adam, Index99, CE, CSO, Patron
Saints SQPN, Infocatho, Bautz, Heiligenlexikon, santiebeati.it -
Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden -
Opprettet: 2001-01-23 10:54 - Sist oppdatert: 2006-06-23 13:07
Linken er kopiert til
utklippstavlen!
SOURCE : https://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/hseuse
Henri SUSO. Œuvres : http://livres-mystiques.com/partieTEXTES/Suso/Oeuvres.pdf
Plard Henri, « Bizet (J.
Α.). Henri Suso et le déclin de la scolastique [compte-rendu] »Revue belge de Philologie et
d'Histoire Année 1950 28-3-4 pp.
1291-1297 : https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_1950_num_28_3_2071_t1_1291_0000_2
Voir aussi : http://www.umilta.net/godfrien.html
Wolfgang
Wackernagel « Les noces mystiques du bienheureux Henri Suso », Diogène 4/2004
(n° 208), p. 114-131. URL : www.cairn.info/revue-diogene-2004-4-page-114.htm.
DOI : 10.3917/dio.208.0114.
http://consciencesansobjet.blogspot.com/2010/12/henri-suso-ou-heinrich-seuse.html
