No Mirrors

Painting: William Merritt Chase, The Mirror, digitally altered

No Need for Mirrors

Under normal circumstances, there are no mirrors in cloisters.  To me, this makes a great deal of sense and provides rich food for meditation.

The cloister is not a place for self-focus.  One's eyes must begin to turn, there, from self to God.  That is the point.

"This is the aim in religion, for in this consists Christian perfection:  to die to self so perfectly that we can say with the apostle:  'the life I live is not my own; Christ is living in me.' (Galatians 2:20)."  (St. Francis de Sales)

"Fix your eyes on Jesus."  (Hebrews 3:1)



(painting in US public domain)