Chiara Lubich is now being called a great Catholic mystic of our times. In these letters we encounter this mystical side of Chiara who is also the bearer of a charism, a gift from the Holy Spirit in response to the special needs of the Church and of the world. Chiara's charism is unity, the unity that Jesus asked for us from his Father: "May they all be one as we are one - I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought to complete unity" (Jn 17: 22-23). Chiara saw God's love in everyone and everything. The light of this discovery enveloped her, and she felt like she was at the centre of the Father's love. This discovery is at the foundation of Chiara's spirituality which emerges from these early letters. They were written to the young women and others who were drawn by the way she presented the Christian life as a response to God's love, which was shown to her in Jesus, most especially in his abandonment and death on the Cross. In these letters, the God that Chiara invites us to believe in is Love. The conversion she asks of us is a conversion to Love. Often using the language and style of the saints and mystics of other ages (like Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Francis of Assisi), Chiara communicates her burning desire that "Love be loved," that "all the world be set ablaze by the fire of Love." Her words are full of fervour, but also simplicity and practical common sense.

"There is a rich tradition of wonderful women and other contemplatives who are great resources for thinking differently about Christianity. They emphasized divine love, human compassion, and the radical possibilities of contemplative practices. They were not afraid to criticize the church and indeed thought of their challenge as crucial to their faith. We do not have to lose faith with the beautiful wisdom of this story of intimate and compassionate love, dwelling among us and within us, if we do not want to." from the acknowledgments and note to readers To those seeking a more open, progressive approach to Christian faith, the Christian past can sometimes seem like a desert, an empty space devoid of encouragement or example. Yet in the latter years of the Middle Ages a quiet flowering of a more accessible, positive approach to Christian belief took place among a group of female mystics, those who emphasized an immediate, nonhierarchical experience of the divine. In this enlightening volume, Wendy Farley eloquently brings the work of three female mysticsMarguerite Porete, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Julian of Norwichinto creative conversation with contemporary Christian life and thought. From alternatives to the standard, violent understandings of the atonement, to new forms of contemplation and prayer, these figures offer us relevant insights through a theology centered on God's love and compassion. Farley demonstrates how these women can help to refresh and expand our awareness of the depth of divine love that encompasses all creation and dwells in the cavern of every human heart.

Among the most widely read texts of medieval mysticism English. From the famous home page, where now the author recounts his experience of spiritual warmth, the numerous mystical poems to concrete advice to pursue the path of the spirit, there are countless paths of this precious text, which (as a deliberate Gothic) always back on itself and on the main subject: charis as the fire of divine love. Opera sliding like few others of this literature, the fire of love can be for many the gateway to the first steps of the spiritual life.

'Walk humbly with God - ' Advent is a time of wonder and waiting - but that's not a passive thing. We need to walk into Advent with our eyes open. We walk through a world where wars are being waged and babies are being born. We are humbled by our inability to do much about what is wrong. But we do our best: to be kind, caring, to understand the meaning of mercy. We do our best to be even-handed, to act justly. Words from the prophet Micah inspired this book. But it also reflects the words of a later prophet, George Fox: 'Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.' Join us on a cheerful, thoughtful, justice-seeking journey towards Bethlehem, a journey day by day through Advent. Jan Sutch Pickard is a poet, preacher and storyteller living on Mull. She is former Warden of Iona Abbey, Vice President of the Methodist Conference, and Ecumenical Accompanier. Her books and many resources include Out of Iona: Words from a Crossroads of the World and Between High and Low Water: Sojourner Songs (Wild Goose). She is also a frequent contributor to IBRA's Fresh from the Word daily reading series.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1907 Edition.

Few things are as eternal in this world as man's quest to better know and understand his Creator. Because the human mind is far too small to fully grasp the Almighty, believers who try to approach Him intellectually often freeze up, entering into a cloud of unknowing. But God is approachable. The Cloud of Unknowing dates back as far as the fourteenth century and has inspired generations of seekers in their efforts to connect with God. Created as a primer to instruct young monks to develop techniques for encountering God, its tone is not academic or austere but rather a loving call for believers to grow closer to God through meditation and prayer. If you desire to experience God in your heart, and yourself in God's heart, The Cloud of Unknowing will be a book to read and reread for a lifetime.

In his day, no preacher in the Highlands was as attractive or well regarded as the Reverend Murdoch Campbell, the author of 'Gleanings of Highland Harvest', 'The Loveliest Story Ever Told', 'Memories of a Wayfaring Man', and 'Wells of Joy'. His Diary is of interest for his life and times, but also as one of the few documented accounts of 20th century Christian mysticism, extending across forty-one years. Its value is not only historical or academic; such a record of fellowship with God is for many beyond price. Interest in mysticism is flourishing, but relatively few commentators look at the Biblical mysticism of Evangelical Protestants. Here the Diary speaks for itself, while a Preface, Biographical Notes, and footnotes add background information and comment. Mystical knowledge of God is not in competition with either faith or 'love for one's neighbour as oneself', but is an added privilege, granted to few. It represents a challenge to well-substantiated ordinary assumptions concerning what can be known, both naturally and, for believers, spiritually. Yet this Diary shows how such contact with God leads beyond ordinary experience to the suburbs of Heaven.

"Mystagogy: A Monastic Reading of Dionysius Areopagita" proposes an interpretation of the Pseudo-Dionysian corpus in light of the liturgical and ascetic tradition that defined the author and his audience. Characterized by both striking originality and remarkable fidelity to the patristic and late neoplatonic traditions, the Dionysian corpus is a coherent and unified structure, whose core and pivot is the treatise known as the "Ecclesiastical Hierarchy." Given Pseudo-Dionysius' fundamental continuity with earlier Christian theology and spirituality, it is not surprising that the church, and in particular the ascetic community, recognized that this theological synthesis articulated its own fundamental experience and aspirations.

"Alexander Golitzin is professor emeritus of patristics at Marquette University and a bishop in the Orthodox Church. He specializes in the origins of Eastern Christian ascetical and mystical tradition. He is the author of" Et introibo ad altare Dei': The Mystagogy of Dionysius Areopagita "(Patriarchal Institute); "St. Symeon the New Theologian on the Mystical Life: The Ethical Discourses, 3 vols." (St Vladimir's Seminary Press); and "New Light from the Holy Mountain" (St. Tikhon's Seminary Press), as well as several studies collected in "The Theophaneia School: Jewish Roots of Christian Mysticism, ed. AndreiOrlov and Basil Lurie (Gorgias).

2014 Reprint of 1952 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "The Revelations of St. Gertrude" form one of the classics of Catholic writing. And although they would have to be classified as "mystical literature," their message is clear and obvious, for her work discusses the secrets of Heaven in terms that all can understand. Recorded here are St. Gertrude's many conversations with Our Lord, wherein He reveals His great desire to grant mercy to souls and to reward the least good act. In the course of their conversations, He reveals wonderful spiritual "shortcuts" that will help everyone in his or her spiritual life. Moreover, the "Revelations" actually open a window onto Heaven, where we can see the specific ways in which prayer, good works and liturgical celebrations on earth have very definite effects in Heaven.

2013 Reprint of 1952 Newman Press Second Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This is one of the great classical medieval English works of devotion. Little is known of the author except that she was a recluse who lived in a cell attached to the church of St. Julian at Norwich. In 1373 she received sixteen private revelations from the Lord, dealing with his Passion, the truths of the Faith and the advancement of her own spiritual life. The work reveals a mind that has penetrated deeply to the mysteries of the Catholic religion, both on its doctrinal and its personal sides. Julian of Norwich was a very spiritual, devout soul, deeply sensitive to the beauty of holiness and centered wholeheartedly on the love and service of God. Although the work attracted little attention when it first appeared, it has since become one of the most famous books dealing with divine communications ever written.

2014 Reprint of 1950 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Catholic Church. She remains a greatly respected figure for her spiritual writings, and for her political boldness to "speak truth to power." This was exceptional for a woman in this period. The "Dialogue" speaks to the whole spiritual life of man and is presented in the form of a series of colloquies between the Eternal Father and the human soul (represented by Catherine herself). It is a mystical counterpart in prose to Dante's "Divina Commedia." This edition is translated from the original Italian by Algar Thorold.

The lively and engaging emblems within The Soul, Lover of God unite the 17th century poetry and art of two famous European authors, Madame Jeanne de la Mothe Guyon and Jesuit priest Herman Hugo. Guyon writes poetry describing the soul falling in love with the divine, while Hugo's illustrations imagine a description of the spiritual world. Charged with witchcraft by King Louis XIV, Madame Guyon kept this book during her incarceration in the Bastille before her legal vindication. Guyon and Hugo never met but they share the same yearning to love God, and they creatively capture how Divine Love might transform the willing soul. This book showcases the growing relationship between Anima, the soul, and Divine Love in the emblems' first introduction to the English-speaking world.

2014 Reprint of 1952 Revised Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition. "The Cloud of Unknowing" is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. Along with "The Cloud" were written six accompanying treaties. Chief among these is "Epistle of Privy Counsel" which is also reproduced in this text. "The Cloud" is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer. The underlying message of this work proposes that the only way to truly "know" God is to abandon all preconceived notions and beliefs or "knowledge" about God and be courageous enough to surrender your mind and ego to the realm of "unknowingness," at which point, you begin to glimpse the true nature of God. The book counsels a young student to seek God, not through knowledge and intellection (faculty of the human mind), but through intense contemplation, motivated by love, and stripped of all thought. This is brought about by putting all thoughts and desires under a "cloud of forgetting," and thereby piercing God's cloud of unknowing with a "dart of longing love" from the heart. This form of contemplation is not directed by the intellect, but involves spiritual union with God through the heart.

Perhaps the least studied of Hildegard of Bingen's writings, "Solutions to Thirty-Eight Questions" is translated in this volume into English for the first time from the original Latin.
In this work of exegesis, Hildegard (1098-1179) resolves thorny passages of Scripture, theological questions, and two issues in hagiographic texts. "Solutions to Thirty-Eight Questions" joins Hildegard's "Homilies on the Gospels," which were directed to her nuns, as evidence of the seer's exegetical writing as well as her authority as an exegete. The twelfth-century saint wrote in standard genres of exegesis--homilies and "solutiones"--and her interpretations of Scripture were widely sought, including by male audiences.

2014 Reprint of 1961 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "Interior Castle" is one of the most celebrated books on mystical theology available. It is the most sublime and mature of Teresa of Avila's works and expresses the full flowering of her deep experience in guiding souls toward spiritual enlightenment. In addition to its profound content, it is a treasury of important maxims on such ascetic subjects as self-knowledge, humility, detachment and suffering. But above all, this account of a soul's progress in virtue and grace is the record of a life-of the interior life of St. Teresa of Avila, whose soul, mind and temperament hold so deep an attraction for the modern mind. In its central image, Teresa describes the soul "as a castle made of a single diamond in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions. She describes the various mansions of the castle, the degrees of purgation and strife, through which the soul must pass in its quest for perfection before reaching the innermost chambers, the place of complete transfiguration and communion with God.

In Mystic Christianity-Religion, Philosophy and Science are known to be one and the same thing. There is no conflict between Science and Religion, Philosophy and Religion, or Philosophy and Science. They are all but names for the One Truth. There be but one Truth-there cannot be more than one. And so call it by the name of Religion... the name of Science... the name of Philosophy... it matters not-for the same thing is meant. There is naught but Truth. Nothing else really exists. All that is not Truth is Illusion-Maya-Nothing. And Mystic Christianity is based upon the Rock of Truth-fearing not the winds nor the storms that try out the stability of all structures of thought. Like its founder, it has always existed... always will exist... from the Beginningless Beginning... to the Endless Ending.

Nicolas Notovitch was born into an aristocratic Jewish family, but converted to Christianity in his youth. A prolific journalist, author of twelve books (and some say spy), he travelled widely in the east, visiting India, Afghanistan and Ladakh. After a riding accident that broke his leg, Notovitch recuperated at a Tibetan monastery in Hemis. Here, he heard of a manuscript that revealed astonishing information on the sixteen 'Lost Years of Jesus' - the period between Christ's visit to the Jerusalem Temple at the age of twelve and His baptism in the Jordan, about which the bible is strangely silent. The Tibetan manuscript relates that Jesus spent this time traveling to India and Tibet to study the spiritual disciplines of the East. He then returned to Israel, via Persia, where He taught until eventual crucifixion. This account was published by Notovitch in 1887 as 'The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ'. It caused an immediate sensation, stirring passions on both sides, shaking the foundations of orthodox Christianity, and raising a storm of controversy that, after more than 125 years, has not yet abated. An exciting, thought-provoking book, and essential reading for anyone interested in the life of the historical Jesus.

Foreword:

Brighter than the twinkling stars in the sky, and yet softer than the wool on a baby lamb, the light of God will be upon us in the next life too. Abundantly so with goodness, and much to our delight, we will hardly be grasping it entirely, unless one has been immersed into and has experienced the connecting light while fully maximized. The fear of passing away should no longer exist in our mind. Complicated thinking is all that it is. Just as simple as knowing there is love in the afterlife, that is where our heart and soul belongs. Travel to heaven in the highway of your mind. It is very safe lifting a yielding conscious to achieve exceptional knowledge within the spirit world.

Author [self] bio:

Greg Belter is an Illinois native, who since at an early age has shown serious interest in the spirit world. Visiting the hereafter is a natural occurrence for him, from the grandiose out of body experiences, to the most splendid heavenly visions each and every day. His words are golden.

Advent is close, expectation is holding its breath. The angels hover high above. Come, begin your journey - Hope Was Heard Singing can be used as part of a daily discipline for Advent, or as a book to dip into. It is a collection for personal reflection, and a rich resource, from an original voice, for congregations and small groups searching for material relevant to the 21st century. There are prayers, meditations, poems, a few wee plays thrown in for good measure and Bible readings on Advent themes. Much of the material was tried and tested at Dunblane Cathedral, where Sally is Associate Minister. On the hillsides, hope was heard singing unexpected Hallelujahs. In a Bethlehem backwater, hope hovered and love was born. And now, as the wise journey and the powerful start to pace the floor and mumble into sleepless nights, we gather - the light of the world is here. The job now is to keep it burning.

2013 Reprint of 1941 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. The sequel to "The Game of Life and How to Play It," this book presents positive affirmations for success, happiness, marriage, loss, debt, interviews, projection, health, and journeys. The author writes of the familiar, practical, and everyday, and her spiritual teaching comes through clear and strong. The wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn is as applicable today as when it was written. The affirmations she offers in her work "Your Word is Your Wand" can be carried with you throughout the day to calm and settle the soul. Here is a list of her affirmations by subject: WISDOM FAITH SUCCESS PROSPERITY HEALTH THE PATH TO PROSPERITY HAPPINESS GUIDANCE FORGIVENESS VARIOUS NEEDS DIVINE PLAN LOVE

The remarkable mystic movement of fourteenth-century Germany produced three major writers--Eckhart, Tauler, and Suso--as well as a wide audience for their voluminous works. This survey chronicles the authors' lives, critiques their works, and discusses their influence on the development of Christian spiritual expression along with that of their contemporaries, the Friends of God and the Franciscan Friars.
These works appeared at a time of crisis, unfolding against a background of calamities ranging from violent upheavals in church and state to a series of natural disasters, including pestilence, famine, earthquakes, and floods. Confronted with the insecurity of human life, readers turned to Eckhart and his contemporaries for answers. Written in the vernacular rather than Latin, these sermons, tracts, and anecdotes provided solace in troubled times, and they remain a touchstone for studies in comparative religion. This introduction to the flowering of medieval mysticism forms a perfect entree for students and lay readers alike.