Novena to St Dominic – Day 1

God is a light shining in itself in silent stillness. God is not in any place … God is not here, or there, not in time or place.

God is better than anything we can conceive: I say, God is somewhat, I know not what, verily I know not. He is all that is being rather than not being, existent more than non-existent; our highest aspirations are but groveling things falling hopelessly short of God. He transcends heart’s desire.

… God is a word, an unspoken word. Augustine says: “All scripture is vain.” We say that God is unspoken, but he is unspeakable. Grant he is somewhat: who can pronounce this word? None but the word. God is the word which pronounces itself. Where God exists he is saying this word; where he does not exist he says nothing. God is spoken and unspoken. The Father is the speaking energy and the Son is the speech energizing. What is in me goes forth of me; I have but to think, and my word goes forth, at the same time abiding within. Even so does the Father speak forth his Son who meanwhile remains within him unspoken. I have repeatedly said, God’s exist is his entrance.

… We say that God is a spirit. Not so. If God were really a spirit he would be spoken. According to St. Gregory, we cannot rightly speak of God at all. Anything we say of him is bound to be a stammering.

(Meister Eckhart, A.D.1260 – c.1329)