Saying Goodbye is a resource book for anyone who is planning a funeral. You may be a family member or a friend of someone who has died. You may be planning your own funeral. You may arrange and conduct funerals professionally. Here you will find an abundance of words and ideas for celebrating a life in ways that are personal and honest. There are resources that do not assume a faith commitment, as well as resources that reflect Christian belief.

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."

Mechthild of Magdeburg and Her Book Gender and the Making of Textual Authority Sara S. Poor Winner of the 2006 First Book Prize of the Society for Medieval Feminist Scholarship Winner of the 2008 John Nicholas Brown Prize from the Medieval Academy of America "Authoritative, convincing, well argued."--"Choice" "Everyone who is genuinely interested in problems of women's writing, vernacularity, and the construction of textual authority will have much to learn from this book."--Barbara Newman, Northwestern University "Poor has not only contributed to our knowledge of Mechthild and the textual history of her work but provided an ambitious model for how to engage with a medieval text, its author, its reception by disparate readers, and its perception by modern scholars."--"The Medieval Review" Poor's astute examination of Mechthild's authorship and the historical transmission of her text contributes significantly not only to the fields of feminist medieval scholarship but also demonstrates how a medieval text can more broadly engage in the construction of religious, philosophical, and literary traditions across time."--"Medieval Feminist Forum" "This remarkable book, a kind of textual biography, is the product of meticulous research and is an astute reflection on the paradoxes of textual authority in mystical texts."--"Journal of Religion" Sometime around 1230, a young woman left her family and traveled to the German city of Magdeburg to devote herself to worship and religious contemplation. Rather than living in a community of holy women, she chose isolation, claiming that this life would bring her closer to God. Even in her lifetime, Mechthild of Magdeburg gained some renown for her extraordinary book of mystical revelations, "The Flowing Light of the Godhead," the first such work in the German vernacular. Yet her writings dropped into obscurity after her death, many assume because of her gender. In "Mechthild of Magdeburg and Her Book," Sara S. Poor seeks to explain this fate by considering Mechthild's own view of female authorship, the significance of her choice to write in the vernacular, and the continued, if submerged, presence of her writings in a variety of contexts from the thirteenth through the nineteenth century. Rather than explaining Mechthild's absence from literary canons, Poor's close examination of medieval and early modern religious literature and of contemporary scholarly writing reveals her subject's shifting importance in a number of differently defined traditions, high and low, Latin and vernacular, male- and female-centered. While gender is often a significant factor in this history, Poor demonstrates that it is rarely the only one. Her book thus corrects late twentieth-century arguments about women writers and canon reform that often rest on inadequate notions of exclusion. "Mechthild of Magdeburg and Her Book" offers new insights into medieval vernacular mysticism, late medieval women's roles in the production of culture, and the construction of modern literary traditions. Sara S. Poor teaches German at Princeton University and is coeditor of "Women and Medieval Epic." The Middle Ages Series 2004 352 pages 6 x 9 ISBN 978-0-8122-3802-0 Cloth $69.95s 45.50 ISBN 978-0-8122-0328-8 Ebook $69.95s 45.50 World Rights Literature, Women's/Gender Studies

The Counter-Reformation saw an upsurge of feminine religious enthusiasm without parallel since medieval times. Inspired by new translations of the lives of the saints, devout women all over Catholic Europe sought to imitate these "athletes of Christ" through extremes of self-abnegation, physical mortification and devotion. Just as in the Middle Ages, women's piety expressed itself especially in mystical experiences manifested in such phenomena as visions, revelations, voices, stigmata and ecstasies. This book offers a comprehensive look at this Golden Age of women's mysticism as it flourished in 16th- and 17th-century Spain, where it almost took on the character of a mass movement. For his study Haliczer draws on 15 cases brought by the Inquisition against women accused of "feigned sanctity" and on 30 biographies and autobiographies of women mystics. By examining their lives, Haliczer seeks to understand the forces that caused these individuals to choose a life of self-abnegation and ecstatic worship. Overall, he shows how mysticism provided women with a way to transcend, rather than to disrupt, the control of the male-dominated Church.

William Johnston writes that "the Christian mystic is one who lives in the Christ-mystery and is transformed by it." Making the distinction between Christian mysticism and other mystic experiences, Johnston locates Christian mysticism in the Scriptures-in meditation on the Word of God. "For God who spoke of old interruptedly converses with the Bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit. . . leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of God dwell abundantly in them." The Wounded Stag examines the Old and New Testaments, the Christian mystical tradition, the Eucharist and mystical prayer, and explains how these can lead to the resolution of the conflicts within our hearts. Without inner peace, Johnston offers, we cannot hope for peace in our world. As it discusses the social implications of Christian mysticism, Johnston's book carries this very important message for our world today.

This book is a study of the human weaknesses that separate us from God and it is one of the most subtle and fascinating works ever written on the relationship of various sins to their corresponding virtues. This is the first complete translation of this important medieval visionary work.

The Inner Eye of Love offers a contemporary theology of mysticism that locates it at the very center of authentic religious experience. It provides as well a practical guide for meditation even as it maps out the oceanic experience toward which meditation points. Johnston begins with the mystical tradition itself, its roots and origins, its appearance and significance in the Gospels, the letters of Paul, and the early Church. He explains what mysticism is and is not, and how it is inextricably bound up with love. It is at the level of mysticism, he maintains, that the two traditions of East and West can at last understand one another and begin to work together to heal a broken world. The Inner Eye of Love escorts the reader through the stages of the mystical journey, from initial call to final enlightenment. Johnston compares and contrasts the Oriental and Christian experience, continually revealing new points of commonality The much discussed "dark night of the soul" is seen here in a positive way, as an emptying preliminary to the overbrimming of the soul with the knowledge and love of God. Finally, the author considers the often misunderstood relation between mysticism and practical action.

The first translation into English of the complete correspondence of the remarkable twelfth-century Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), this study consists of nearly four hundred letters, in four projected volumes. Addressed to some of the most notable people of the day, as well as to some of humble status, the correspondence reveals the saint in ways her more famous works leave obscure: as determined reformer, as castigating seer, as theoretical musician, as patient adviser, as exorcist. Sometimes diffident and restrained, sometimes thunderously imperious, her letters are indispensable to understanding fully this luminary of medieval philosophy, poetry, and music. In addition, they provide a fascinating glimpse at life in tumultuous twelfth-century Germany, beset with schism and political unrest. This first volume includes ninety letters to the highest ranking prelates in Hildegard's world--popes, archbishops, and bishops. Three following volumes will be divided according to the rank of the addressees.

In The Resurrection of the Body Caroline Bynum forges a new path of historical inquiry by studying the notion of bodily resurrection in the ancient and medieval West against the background of persecution and conversion, social hierarchy, burial practices, and the cult of saints. Examining those periods between the late second and fourteenth centuries in which discussions of the body were central to Western conceptions of death and resurrection, she suggests that the attitudes toward the body emerging from these discussions still undergird our modern conceptions of personal identity and the individual. Bynum describes how Christian thinkers clung to a very literal notion of resurrection, despite repeated attempts by some theologians and philosophers to spiritualize the idea. Focusing on the metaphors and examples used in theological and philosophical discourse and on artistic depictions of saints, death, and resurrection, Bynum connects the Western obsession with bodily return to a deep-seated fear of biological process and a tendency to locate identity and individuality in body. Of particular interest is the imaginative religious imagery, often bizarre to modern eyes, which emerged during medieval times. Bynum has collected here thirty-five examples of such imagery, which illuminate her discussion of bodily resurrection. With this detailed study of theology, piety, and social history, Bynum writes a new chapter in the history of the body and challenges our views on gender, social hierarchy, and difference.

In the popular mind, the mystic is seen as the supreme solitary. This image, if accurate, would make the mystical quest marginal in an era when much theology has emphasized socially responsible praxis. Against the popular image, Mary Frohlich develops a theological model -- based on the writings of Bernard Lonergan and the "self-psychology" of Heinz Kohut -- that both respects mysticism's irreducible character and shows how it concretely transforms people and systems. She then applies this model to an interpretation of a classic expression of spiritual transformation, the Interior Castle of the sixteenth-century mystic Teresa of Avila.

The question of the 'structure' of the human person is central to many mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This book focuses on the specific anthropology of a series of key authors in the mystical tradition in the medieval and early modern Low Countries. Their view is fundamentally different from the anthropology that has commonly been accepted since the rise of Modernity. This book explores the most important mystical authors and texts from the Low Countries including: William of Saint-Thierry, Hadewijch, Pseudo-Hadewijch, John of Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, Hendrik Herp, and the Arnhem Mystical Sermons. The most important aspects of mystical anthropology are discussed: the spiritual nature of the soul, the inner-most being of the soul, the faculties, the senses, and crucial metaphors which were used to explain the relationship of God and the human person. Two contributions explicitly connect the anthropology of the mystics to contemporary thought. This book offers a solid and yet accessible overview for those interested in theology, philosophy, history, and medieval literature.

This is the first comprehensive interdisciplinary study of the cult of St Margaret of Antioch in medieval England. Margaret was one of the most famous female saints of both the Catholic world and of Eastern Christianity (where she was known as St Marina). Her legend is remembered for her confrontation with a dragon-shaped devil, who allegedly swallowed Margaret and then burst asunder. This episode became firmly established in iconography, making her one of the most frequently represented saints. Margaret was supposedly martyred in the late 3rd century, but apart from the historically problematic legend there is no evidence concerning her in other contemporary sources. The sudden appearance of her name in liturgical manuscripts in the late 8th century is connected with the dispersal of her relics at that time. The cult grew in England from Anglo-Saxon times, with over 200 churches dedicated to Margaret (second only to Mary among female saints), and hundreds of images and copies of her life known to have been made. The book examines Greek, Latin, Old English, Middle English and Anglo-Norman versions of Margaret's live, their mouvance and cultural context, providing editions of the hitherto unpublished texts. By considering these versions, the iconographic evidence, their patronage and audience, the monograph traces the changes of St Margaret's story through the eight centuries before the Reformation. The book also considers the further trajectory of the legend as reflected in popular fairy-tales and contemporary cultural stereotypes. Special attention is given to the interpretation of St Margaret's demonic encounter, central to the legend's iconography and theology.

For history and biography lovers, the 15th-century life and travels of the extraordinary Margery Kempe, who left her family to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Words and Wonderings is a celebration of gratitude, kindness, mindfulness, truth and the love of beauty through the gifts and giftedness of poets, artists, musicians, gardeners, bakers and many more, who discover their creativity in communion with others. Through conversations and connections Joy Mead explores the true meaning of community - beyond the jargon of 'community cohesion' and the 'Big Society'. But what matters most and is central to this book is wonder - be it at the sunrise or the food on our plates, the intricacy of a grain of wheat or the diversity of people, bread baked and broken, gardens, orchards, kitchens, poetry, painting, music - or simply being a part of the way good communities make themselves and value their distinctiveness. The words of this book all begin a process towards what can't be told but can be shared, towards recovering that sense of wonder at our earth and one another, which is what justifies our being alive.

Angels have fascinated people for millennia because they point to an invisible dimension that parallels our own. This book examines the different ways that angels have been portrayed at certain key points in biblical and theological history. By tracing patterns in the appearance of higher-order beings from their ancient Near Eastern origins, the Hebrew Scriptures, the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius, Thomas Aquinas, Karl Barth, and even modern New Age writers, Angelology demonstrates that angels allow various authors to emphasise divine transcendence, immanence, and creativity. Identifying the theological purpose underlying the depiction of angels at certain key points in the history of their use raises new questions about how angels are to be understood by people today.

The Divine Names and The Mystical Theology were written by a theologian who professed to be St. Paul's Athenian convert, Dionysius. Rolt, however, places him in the time of Proclus, in the 5th century A.D. These works of Neo-Platonic Christian mysticism had an important influence on the early church and other Western esoteric orders and continue to be essential in the serious study of theology. Within these writings are the doctrine of the Super-Essential Godhead, its relation to creation, a discussion on the nature of evil, and a guide to the path of contemplation. Rolt provides a clear introduction to the Areopagite's writings, considers his relevance to modern philosophy and the psychology of contemplation, and outlines the scriptural basis of his doctrines. Throughout, Role provides informative notes on the translation with cross-references to scripture and other important texts.

Fully-annotated edition of English mystic Margery Kempe's life and divine revelations [dated 1436-8]. [This edition previously published by Longman.] The Book of Margery Kempe, the earliest surviving autobiography in English (dated 1436-8), is a unique account of the extraordinary life, travels and revelations of a fifteenth-century Norfolk housewife and mother, pilgrim,prophet and visionary; it is one of the most compelling and significant English texts of the middle ages. This volume presents the original text in accessible form for modern readers, with on-page glossing and a glossary of common words. It is accompanied by on-page annotation of and commentary on the Book, bringing together scholarship on Kempe and setting her life in the social, political and spiritual context of her time. An introduction provides information on and context for the further interpretation of the text, and the volume is completed by a chronology of Kempe's life. [This edition previously published by Longman.] Professor BARRY WINDEATT is a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

The question of the 'structure' of the human person is central to many mystical authors in the Christian tradition. This book focuses on the specific anthropology of a series of key authors in the mystical tradition in the medieval and early modern Low Countries. Their view is fundamentally different from the anthropology that has commonly been accepted since the rise of Modernity. This book explores the most important mystical authors and texts from the Low Countries including: William of Saint-Thierry, Hadewijch, Pseudo-Hadewijch, John of Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, Hendrik Herp, and the Arnhem Mystical Sermons. The most important aspects of mystical anthropology are discussed: the spiritual nature of the soul, the inner-most being of the soul, the faculties, the senses, and crucial metaphors which were used to explain the relationship of God and the human person. Two contributions explicitly connect the anthropology of the mystics to contemporary thought. This book offers a solid and yet accessible overview for those interested in theology, philosophy, history, and medieval literature.

Reincarnation -- by which human beings return to live on earth -- is a concept most often associated with eastern philosophies rather than Christianity. In this fascinating book, Friedrich Rittelmeyer explores reincarnation from a Christian point of view, arguing that it has a place in modern Christian thought. Reincarnation can sometimes be exploited to justify daydreams or imaginary past glories, or can harden into a legalistic reckonining of vice and virtue. Rittelmeyer's approach is different: joyous, essentially Christian, and full of a sense of freedom as he struggles to find a path through the pitfalls on the way to a Christ-filled acceptance of reincarnation. Drawing on the work and inspiration of Rudolf Steiner, Rittelmeyer was able to encounter the cosmic truth of reincarnation and, wrestling with human doubt on every level, courageously grounds it in human reality.

Situated on the bank of the Seine, the Victorines followed the rule of St Augustine, upholding the monastic ideal of a contemplative life dedicated to study. It was here, in the second half of the twelfth century, that Richard of St Victor wrote one of the most significant medieval works on the dogma of the Trinity, De Trinitate, printed here in English for the first time. Studies of Richard's theology are few in number, yet his model of the central - and arguably most contentious - doctrine of Christianity was influential up until the end of the sixteenth century and widely sought after by religious houses. Following Augustine's own treatise on the trinity, 'De Trinitate' explores the mediating concepts on which to base faith, founded on personal experience. Comprising six books, each of twenty-five chapters, Richard develops a model to account for the three components of the Trinity, using a typical blend of reason and spirituality Angelici provides a translation faithful to the original intent and style of the medieval author, alongside rich commentary. This edition affords fascinating insight into the Augustinian-Anselmian position of the Victorines and the dogmatics of one of the most important medieval theologians. Richard of St Victor was one of the most important spiritual writers of the twelfth century and, together with Adam of St Victor, represents the second generation of Victorine spirituality. He joined the abbey of St Victor at Paris in the early 1150s and held the position of prior from 1162 until his death in 1173. Apart from De Trinitate, his major works are 'De XII patriarchis' and 'De arca mystica'. Ruben Angelici is a Graduate of the University of Manchester. He holds degrees and expertise in theology, philosophy, biology, and music. He has been a sessional lecturer in dogmatic and historical theology at Nazarene Theological College, University of Manchester.

"The Classics series, which has inspired many less successful imitations over the years, has fulfilled its promise and given us an invaluable resource of the soul." The Catholic Historical Review Jean Gerson: Early Works translated and introduced by Brian Patrick McGuire preface by Bernard McGinn "However much advanced scholarship and great learning in God's law may be quite suitable for the person who wishes to come to the height of contemplation, nevertheless sometimes such knowledge blocks this pursuit. Learning is not in itself a problem. Rather, it is the arrogance and the self-inflation that the learned person derives from his knowledge. For it is clearly impossible to reach true contemplation except through humility, as the Apostle teaches (1 Cor 3:18). For if anyone, he says, seems wise in this world, he must become a fool in order to be wise. In other words, he should take on humble understanding and consider himself a fool with regard to God's wisdom. From The Mountain of Contemplation [2] Jean Gerson (1363-1429), chancellor of the University of Paris from 1395 until his death, was one of the outstanding theologians and preachers of his time. Today he is all but forgotten, except in terms of his role in resolving the schism of the Western Church. Gerson deserves to be seen as a man of great passion and learning. He sought to map the path to the contemplative life in a way that made it accessible to groups outside the universities. Partly because of continuing closeness to members of his family, especially his sisters, Gerson insisted on writing many of his works in French. His Mountain of Contemplation is a major event in the history of language and in terms of gender relations in the religious life. Gerson knew how innovative his approach was, for he opened his treatise with the words: "Some persons will wonder and ask why, in a matter so lofty as that of the contemplative life, I choose to write in French rather than in Latin, and more to women than to men." Thanks to Gerson's personal letters, translated here for the first time, it is possible to get close to the doubts and pain of a man who sought the vision of god and yearned for affective bonds. Gerson's life and writings can be seen as a search for unity in the midst of a rich and chaotic age whose spirituality we are only now beginning to appreciate. In giving advice to confessors, attacking the Romance of the Rose, preaching on the feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, discerning between true and false revelations, and in outlining his Practical Mystical Theology, Gerson emerges as one of the most articulate voices of a Christian spirituality that transcends the Middle Ages and speaks to our time.

When Quietism was condemned in 1687 it resulted in an antipathy, if not an open hostility to authentic mystical theology. This situation has lasted down to the present day and has been aggravated by many forms of counterfeit mysticism that are self-centred, not God-centred. The consequences have been disastrous. To restore the balance lost to Christian spirituality, the author returns to the profound mystical teaching that Jesus himself lived and handed on to the early Church through his disciples. His research has resulted in a book that details a practical daily spirituality for all, that mirrors that which was lived by our earliest Christian forebears. It emphasises the original balance between personal and communal prayer in such a way that our whole lives become the place where we continually offer our lives through Christ to the Father.

From the visual and textual art of Anglo-Saxon England onwards, images held a surprising power in the Western Christian tradition. Not only did these artistic representations provide images through which to find God, they also held mystical potential, and likewise mystical writing, from the early medieval period onwards, is also filled with images of God that likewise refracts and reflects His glory. This collection of essays introduces the currents of thought and practice that underpin this artistic engagement with Western Christian mysticism, and explores the continued link between art and theology. The book features contributions from an international panel of leading academics, and is divided into four sections. The first section offers theoretical and philosophical considerations of mystical aesthetics and the interplay between mysticism and art. The final three sections investigate this interplay between the arts and mysticism from three key vantage points. The purpose of the volume is to explore this rarely considered yet crucial interface between art and mysticism. It is therefore an important and illuminating collection of scholarship that will appeal to scholars of theology and Christian mysticism as much as those who study literature, the arts and art history.

"The important thing is not to think much, but to love much, and so to do whatever best awakens us to love." -St. Teresa of Avila Journey to the 16th century to discover the fiery passion of Saint Teresa of Avila, one of Christianity's most inspiring saints. A tireless reformer and the mentor of Saint John of the Cross, Teresa's greatest legacy is her revelation of ecstatic love for God-a love so powerful that it pierces the heart like a burning sword. Through illness, hardship, and persecution by the Inquisition, this courageous mystic lit the way with her unquenchable spirit to an "interior castle," a place of unimaginable beauty and light where no darkness can touch us. Saint Teresa of Avila gives you a direct link to the living presence of this brave and gentle woman, to draw upon her strength in your own times of need.