“He is not able to possess usefully that which he has, as long as he does not love it in Him from Whom he has [received] it. For just as every good is truly from God, so no good can be possessed usefully apart from God. But rather that very thing which man has is lost through this: that what he has is not loved in God, and with God and from God.” De quinque septenis 70-75
Hugh of St. Victor was a 12th century medieval, European scholar-monk-priest who was passionate about connecting people to God so they could live out the generous life of the Kingdom.
Over the next seven days while I am taking a spiritual retreat with my family, enjoy exploring (with me) his medieval schema for your the reformation of our souls known as De quinque septenis or On the Five Sevens.
In common terms, Hugh of St. Victor wanted to help people (you and me) live out the Christian life by understanding these five sevens in harmony: (1) the seven vices (a.k.a. the seven deadly sins), (2) the seven petitions of the Lord’s prayer, (3) the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit from Isaiah 11:2-3, (4) the seven virtues found in the Beatitudes and (5) the seven beatitudes found in the beatitudes.
May your contemplation of the readings below over the next seven days transform our souls and release us to live the generous Kingdom life, anew and afresh.
Material from Jeffrey P. Greenman, Timothy Larsen and Stephen R. Spencer, editors, The Sermon on the Mount: Through the Centuries from the Early Church to John Paul II (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2007) 59-80.