Now even though we may have faith, hope and love, none of us can attain this state of blessedness by ourselves. Rather, blessed is the man – he alone attains blessedness – whose help is from you in rising to the heights of happiness on which he has set his heart. In other words, he alone can be said to come to true blessedness who, having resolved in his heart to rise to this state of happiness by the many stages of the virtues and good works, receives the help of your grace. No one can rise up by himself as the Lord testifies: No one ascends into heaven, of his own power, except the Son of Man who is in heaven.
Thus he contemplates this journey, living as he does in a vale of tears, for this life is lowly and full of tears and sorrow. The life of heaven, by contrast, is called a mountain of joy.
But since the psalmist said: Blessed is the man whose help comes from you, someone might ask: Does God really help us in this? And the answer is that God does help the blessed. For our lawgiver Christ, who gave us the law, gives now and will continue to give his blessings, the abundant gifts of grace, by which he will bless his own, that is, raise them to beatitude. By these blessings, then, they will rise from strength to strength. One day in the heavenly Zion they will see Christ as the God of gods, as the one who, being God, will deify his own. Or, again, those who are to be the new Zion will see in spirit the God of gods – the Trinity. In other words, then their minds will see God, who cannot be seen in this life. For then God will be all in all.
St. Bruno
(Ps. 83: edit. Cartusie de Pratis, 19891, 376-377)
