"Mother Maria is a saint of our day and for our day; a woman of flesh and blood possessed by the love of God, who stood face to face with the problems of this century."--Anthony (Bloom), Metropolitan of Sourozh Mother Maria Skobtsova (1891-1945) has emerged as one of the most fascinating religious figures of the twentieth century. As an Orthodox nun in Paris her home was at once a soup kitchen for the needy, a center for the renewal of Orthodox thought, and---under Nazi occupation---a haven for the rescue of Jews. For the latter cause she ended her life in a concentration camp. Like Dorothy Day, her writings reflect her deep commitment to the gospel mandate that unites love of God and love of neighbor. The introduction is by Jim Forest, secretary of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, and author of many books including Praying with Icons and Confession: Doorway to Forgiveness

Meister Eckhart, the fourteenth-century German mystic and theologian, is one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures in the history of the Church, and few have played so diverse and fertile a role in the cultural imagination. He has been seen as both heretic and 'the man from whom God nothing hid'; Christian mystic and Buddhist sage; Catholic and Protestant; feminist and ecologist; he is both medieval schoolman and inspirer of contemporary philosophers such as Heidegger, Bloch and Derrida. Oliver Davies's masterly evaluation of Eckhart is based on an unrivalled knowledge of the original texts, their historical and theological context, and their place in the Christian mystical tradition. The portrait of St Dominic on the cover (of the book) illustrates one of Davies's main themes: Eckhart's position in the mainstream Dominican tradition of grounding theology in spiritual experience. Both a stimulating scholarly study and an ideal introduction for the non-specialist, Meister Eckhart: Mystical Theologian explores the enduring fascination of Meister Eckhart, 'a mystic for our age'.

Karl Rahner, a Jesuit Priest who died in 1984, is widely regarded as one of the most influential Catholic theologians of the 20th century. His writings played an enormous role in shaping the documents of Vatican II. But while he is best known for his academic theology, his deepest goal was to help ordinary Christians to recognize and respond to the presence of grace in their everyday lives. Rahner famously observed that the Christians of the future will be mystics or there will be no Christianity. With readings for Advent, Lent, and the other liturgical seasons, these sermons, prayers, and reflections offer spiritual nourishment for the whole year.

Howard Thurman (1900-1981), minister, philosopher, civil rights activist, has been called "one of the greatest spiritual resources of this nation." His encounters with Gandhi in India helped instill his commitment to nonviolence. His identification of Jesus as one of the disinherited helped shape the thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr. His embrace of wisdom from other religious traditions emboldened interfaith cooperation and understanding.

VISIONARY CHRISTIAN Culled from some of C.S. Lewis's finest fiction and poetry, this collection of writings explores the eternal truths of Christianity in the accessible language of allegory, fairy tales, dream visions, and science fiction. From his children's classic The Chronicles of Narnia to the wisdom of Screwtape on marriage, democracy, and heaven, Lewis's literary imagination and extraordinary insight into the universe and God remain vivid and relevant for all times. The Visionary Christian is testimony to a true man of faith who continues to provide comfort and understanding to Christians around the world.

Scholars of Gregory of Nyssa have long acknowledged the centrality of faith in his theory of divine union. To date, however, there has been no sustained examination of this key topic. The present study fills this gap and elucidates important auxiliary themes that accrue to Gregory's notion of faith as a faculty of apophatic union with God. The result adjusts how we understand the Cappadocian's apophaticism in general and his so-called mysticism of darkness in particular. After a general discussion of the increasing value of faith in late Neoplatonism and an overview of important work done on Gregorian faith, this study moves on to sketch a portrait of the mind and its dynamic, varying cognitive states and how these respond to the divine pedagogy of scripture, baptism, and the presence of God. With this portrait of the mind as a backdrop we see how Gregory values faith for its ability to unite with God, who remains beyond the comprehending grasp of mind. A close examination of the relationship between faith and mind shows Gregory bestowing on faith qualities which Plotinus would have granted only to the `crest of the wave of intellect'. While Gregorian faith serves as the faculty of apophatic union with God, faith yet gives something to mind. This dimension of Gregory's apophaticism has gone largely unnoticed by scholars. At the apex of an apophatic ascent faith unites with God the Word; by virtue of this union the believer takes on the qualities of the Word, who speaks (logophasis) in the deeds and discourse of the believer. Finally this study redresses how Gregory has been identified with a `mysticism of darkness' and argues that he proposes no less a `mysticism of light'.

The contemporaries of Hildegard of Bingen called her ""prophetissa teutonica"", honouring her philosophical writings and interpretation of the cosmos. Mediaevalists still consider her one of the leading mystics, and point to her active spiritual and artistic life in the 12th century as the finest example of what a woman can achieve. The abbess Hildegard of Bingen was the first composer to sign her musical works. As a playwright and author, she witnessed and shaped the time of the Crusades, the literary minnesang, and political and theological debate. The author of this text draws a complex picture of her life and work, as he ""translates"" Hildegard's ideas and her mysterious world of symbols from mediaeval Latin into contemporary concepts. Heinrich Schipperges delineates this remarkable thinker's view of the human being as a microcosm of the universe, intricately bound by the senses to the life of the soul, nature, and God.

In the decades leading up to the Second Vatican Council, the movement of nouvelle theologie caused great controversy in the Catholic Church and remains a subject of vigorous scholarly debate today. In Nouvelle theologie and Sacramental Ontology Hans Boersma argues that a return to mystery was the movement's deepest motivation.
Countering the modern intellectualism of the neo-Thomist establishment, the nouvelle theologians were convinced that a ressourcement of the Church Fathers and of medieval theology would point the way to a sacramental reintegration of nature and the supernatural. In the context of the loss suffered by both Catholics and Protestants in the de-sacramentalizing of modernity, Boersma shows how the sacramental ontology of nouvelle theologie offers a solid entry-point into ecumenical dialogue.
The volume begins by setting the historical context for nouvelle theologie with discussions of the influence of significant theologians and philosophers like Mohler, Blondel, Marechal, and Rousselot. The exposition then moves to the writings of key thinkers of the ressourcement movement including de Lubac, Bouillard, Balthasar, Chenu, Danielou, Charlier, and Congar. Boersma analyses the most characteristic elements of the movement: its reintegration of nature and the supernatural, its reintroduction of the spiritual interpretation of Scripture, its approach to Tradition as organically developing in history, and its communion ecclesiology that regarded the Church as sacrament of Christ. In each of these areas, Boersma demonstrates how the nouvelle theologians advocated a return to mystery by means of a sacramental ontology."

St Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022) is regarded as one of the most significant figures in Byzantine mysticism. Though a very controversial figure in his own lifetime, he is now revered both in Orthodox and other Christian traditions. After beginning his monastic life while still comparatively young, he became hegumen of the monastery of St Mamas, and held that position for several years. Many of his writings, including the Discourses and Hymns, have appeared in print, but his four epistles have not been published in their entirety until now.
In these four letters, besides criticising those contending against him, Symeon writes as a pastor, concerned to give practical moral guidance. He focuses on confession, repentence, and the role of the spiritual father. H. J. M. Turner details the biographic and textual context of this scholarly annotated edition. He uses the previously unpublished Greek text established by Joseph Paramelle to provide an authoritative basis for his translation. Clearly and accessibly presented, these letters serve to reinforce our understanding of Symeon's life and work.

This book collects multiple disciplinary voices which explore current research and perspectives to discuss how spirituality is understood, interpreted and applied in a range of contexts. It addresses spirituality in combination with such topics as Christian mysticism, childhood and adolescent education, midwifery, and sustainability. It links spirituality to a variety of disciplines, including cognitive neuroscience, sociology, and psychology. Finally, it discusses the application of spirituality within the context of social work, teaching, health care, and occupational therapy. A final chapter provides an analytical discussion of the different voices that appear in the book and offers a holistic description of spirituality which has the potential to bring some unity to the meaning, expression and practice of spirituality across a variety of disciplines as well as across cultural, religious and secular worldviews. "A strength of the book is that each chapter is characterized by a fearless confronting of oppositional perspectives and use of the latest research in addressing them. The book takes the difficult topic of spirituality into almost every nook and cranny of personal and professional life. There is a persistent grasping of the contentiousness of the topic, together with addressing counter positions and utilizing updated research across a range of fields in doing this. The opening and closing chapters serve as book ends that keep the whole volume together."Terence Lovat, The University of Newcastle, Australia "The interdisciplinary nature of the work is by far the strongest aspect of this volume. It has the potential to contribute to a dialogue between different professions and disciplines. This prospective publication promises to promote a more holistic approach to the study of spirituality. This volume takes into consideration a wide variety of issues. The way the editors have structured the sequence of chapters contributes to facilitate any possible dialogue between the different areas."Adrian-Mario Gellel, University of Malta, Malta

This book represents a study of Evelyn Underhill's premier work on mysticism, using Hegel's dialectics and Kant's theory of the sublime as interpretive tools. It especially focuses on two prominent features of Underhill's text: the description of the mystical life as one permeated by an intense love between the mystic and infinite reality, and the detailed delineation of stages of mystical development. Given these two features, the text lends itself to a construction of a valuable discourse predicated on dialecticism, sublimity, and mysticism. The book also articulates a number of insights into the content and nature of the writings of Christian mystics.

"...these translations thus supersede former ones...if the introductions, translations, and other apparatus of the rest of the series of the same high quality, the series will be indispensable for most libraries. Library Journal Mechthild of Magdeburg: The Flowing Light of the Godhead translated and introduced by Frank Tobin preface by Margot Schmidt "I was warned against writing this book. People said: If one did not watch out, It could be burned. So I did as I used to do as a child. When I was sad, I always had to pray... At once God revealed himself to my joyless soul, held this book in his right hand and said: 'My dear One, do not be overly troubled. No one can burn the truth.'" "I do not know how to write nor can I, unless I see with the eyes of my soul and hear with the ears of my eternal spirit and feel in all the parts of my body the power of the Holy Spirit." Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1260-c.1282/94) These quotations taken from Mechthild's sole writing, The Flowing Light of the Godhead, written over several decades, reflect both the intensity of her consciousness of God and the tension under which she wrote. As a beguine with no authority to teach n a church in which women were being increasingly marginalized, Mechthild speaks out despite warnings, convinced of the validity of her divine mission. To accomplish the task of articulating her revelations and spiritual insights, Mechthild makes use of an astonishing multiplicity of literary and rhetorical means. The more mystical passages, often lyrical in expression, show her familiarity with bride mysticism and other Christian expressions found in Meister Eckhart, as well. This is the first English translation to be based on the new critical edition of Mechthild's book. The introduction and notes are intended to provide a theological, literary and historical context for capturing the spirituality of her remarkable and independent spirit.

This fascinating volume explores the mystical strand of thought that exists in the writings of John Calvin. Dennis Tamburello explores in particular the relationship between Calvin's notion of "union with Christ" and notions of the mystical union between believers and Christ that were prominent in the medieval period as explicated in the writings of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. The Columbia Series in Reformed Theology represents a joint commitment by Columbia Theological Seminary and Westminster John Knox Press to provide theological resources from the Reformed tradition for the church today. This series examines theological and ethical issues that confront church and society in our own particular time and place.

In this book, the author takes the reader on a contemplative and theological journey into the angelic wisdom at the heart of the symbol of the cherubim. He uses as the guide for the journey, the 12th-century theologian Richard of St Victor and his treatise, De arca mystica.

This innovative critical volume brings the study of Margery Kempe into the twenty-first century. Structured around four categories of 'encounter' - textual, internal, external and performative - the volume offers a capacious exploration of The Book of Margery Kempe, characterised by multiple complementary and dissonant approaches. It employs a multiplicity of scholarly and critical lenses, including the intertextual history of medieval women's literary culture, medical humanities, history of science, digital humanities, literary criticism, oral history, the global Middle Ages, archival research and creative re-imagining. Revealing several new discoveries about Margery Kempe and her Book in its global contexts, and offering multiple ways of reading the Book in the modern world, it will be an essential companion for years to come. -- .