What is an INEFFABLE love for God?
Words from the Philokalia to set your heart alight
{ “It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup … }
Worthy to ponder…
I was just pondering this question with a reader, “What does INEFFABLE actually mean?
My sense has been that ‘ineffable’ has a meaning that evokes the transcendent … the uncontainable … something beyond human comprehension.
You can’t pin God down.
Which definition strikes you?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines it like this: “That cannot be expressed or described in language; too great for words; transcending expression; unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible.”
not to be uttered.
"the ineffable Hebrew name that gentiles write as Jehovah"
inexpressible
indescribable
beyond words
beyond description
beggaring description
undefinable
unutterable
untold
unheard of
unthought of
unimaginable
overwhelming
marvelous
wonderful
breathtaking
staggering
astounding
amazing
astonishing
fantastic
fabulous
not to be uttered
Deepen your love of God and neighbor
The Philokalia speaks of this ineffable love for God, teaching that inner stillness can lead to a grace-filled sense of the Holy Spirit, and a deepening love of God and neighbor.
Saint Gregory of Sinai reflects,
The energy of the Holy Spirit, which we have already mystically received in baptism, is realized … through the continuous invocation of the Lord Jesus, repeated with conscious awareness, that is, through mindfulness of God … Let our aim be to make the energy of prayer alone active in our hearts, for it brings warmth and joy to the intellect, and sets the heart alight with an ineffable love for God and man.1
I was surprised to read about ‘mindfulness’ in the Philokalia. But keeping God always in our thoughts is a theme from The Way of a Pilgrim, which I write about in my children’s version, The Little Way of a Pilgrim.
The ‘energy of prayer’ then can ‘set the heart alight with an ineffable love for God and man.’ So we return to the Oxford definition of a love “too great for words; transcending expression; unspeakable, unutterable, inexpressible.”
Ineffable can describe our love for God, as well as our view of God. This makes sense, to have a love too great for words for our Creator, who also transcends human expression.
That tiny cup…
Bishop Kallistos comes to the rescue again, with St Basil’s potent analogy,
“Our reasoning brain is weak, and our tongue is weaker still”, remarks St Basil the Great. “It is easier to measure the entire sea with a tiny cup than to grasp God's ineffable greatness with the human mind.”2
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Q: Does contemplating God as ineffable open up any new thoughts for you?
Spark: Explore this concept in your journal. How do you love God?
Resources:
Palmer, G.E.H., Sherrard, Philip, and Ware, Kallistos, eds. 1995. St Gregory of Sinai. In: The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Volume Four. London: Faber and Faber Limited, p. 259.
Ware, Kallistos, The Orthodox Way. St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2018.
Thank you for another elegant reflection. I've often tried to explain the feeling of peace and happiness in being alone with God in silence. The word "ineffable" is excellent, but my choice from your list is "beyond words" for its simplicity—like the Jesus Prayer itself.