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.

This book examines the nearly 400-year tradition of Quaker engagements with mystical ideas and sources. It provides a fresh assessment of the way tradition and social context can shape a religious community while interplaying with historical and theological antecedents within the tradition. Quaker concepts such as "Meeting," the "Light," and embodied spirituality, have led Friends to develop an interior spirituality that intersects with extra-Quaker sources, such as those found in Jakob Boehme, Abu Bakr ibn Tufayl, the Continental Quietists, Kabbalah, Buddhist thought, and Luyia indigenous religion. Through time and across cultures, these and other conversations have shaped Quaker self-understanding and, so, expanded previous models of how religious ideas take root within a tradition. The thinkers engaged in this globally-focused, interdisciplinary volume include George Fox, James Nayler, Robert Barclay, Elizabeth Ashbridge, John Woolman, Hannah Whitall Smith, Rufus Jones, Inazo Nitobe, Howard Thurman, and Gideon W. H. Mweresa, among others.

By 1791, the French Revolution had spread to Haiti, where slaves and free blacks alike had begun demanding civil rights guaranteed in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man. Enter Romaine-la-Prophetesse, a free black Dominican coffee farmer who dressed in women's clothes and claimed that the Virgin Mary was his godmother. Inspired by mystical revelations from the Holy Mother, he amassed a large and volatile following of insurgents who would go on to sack countless plantations and conquer the coastal cities of Jacmel and Leogane. For this brief period, Romaine counted as his political adviser the white French Catholic priest and physician Abbe Ouviere, a renaissance man of cunning politics who would go on to become a pioneering figure in early American science and medicine. Brought together by Catholicism and the turmoil of the revolutionary Atlantic, the priest and the prophetess would come to symbolize the enlightenment ideals of freedom and a more just social order in the eighteenth-century Caribbean. Drawing on extensive archival research, Terry Rey offers a major contribution to our understanding of Catholic mysticism and traditional African religious practices at the time of the Haitian Revolution and reveals the significant ways in which religion and race intersected in the turbulence and triumphs of revolutionary France, Haiti, and early republican America.

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.

Best known today as a fine composer, the twelfth-century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen was also a religious leader and visionary, a poet, naturalist and writer of medical treatises. Despite her cloistered life she had strong, often controversial views on sex, love and marriage too - a woman astonishing in her own age, whose book of apocalyptic visions, Scivias, would alone have been enough to ensure her lasting fame. In this classic and highly praised biography - first published by Headline in 2001 - distinguished writer and journalist, Fiona Maddocks, draws on Hildegard's prolific writings to paint a portrait of her extraordinary life against the turbulent medieval background of crusade and schism, scientific discovery and cultural revolution. The great intellectual gifts and forceful character that emerge make her as fascinating as any figure in the Middle Ages. More than 800 years after her death, Pope Benedict XVI has made Hildegard a Saint and a Doctor of the Church (one of only four women). Fiona Maddocks has provided a short new preface to cover these tributes to an extraordinary and exceptional woman.

Twelve papers focus on mysticism as an experience and on the work of individual mystics. The proceedings of the fifth meeting include: studies of medieval mystics in continental Europe; clarification of the nature of Bridgettine spirituality through examination of the thinking that governed the practical details of their daily routine and their religous instruction; analyses of the distinctively creative quality of the writings of Julian of Norwich and of the status of visionary autobiography as a literary genre; comparison between modern philosophical understanding and that of a medieval mystic; enquiry as to what books were available and to whom in fourteenth-century Cambridge; radical questioning of the identity of the translator of the text known as Benjamin Minor traditionally ascribed to the author of the Cloud of Unknowing. Contributors: JOHN CLARK, TARJEI PARK, OLIVER DAVIES, VINCENT GILLESPIE, MAGGIE ROSS, NICHOLAS WATSON, KATHRYN KERBY FULTON, SASKIA MURK JANSEN, ULLA SANDER OLSEN, VERONICA LAWRENCE, GUNNEL CLEVE, SONYA SIKKA, ROGER ELLIS.

Interdisciplinary studies on medieval mystics and their cultural background. Contemplative life in the middle ages has been the focus of much recent critical attention. The Symposium papers collected in this volume illuminate the mystical tradition through examination of written texts and material culturein the medieval period. A particular focus is on Celtic modes of witnessing to comtemplative vision from Ireland and Wales: an eighth-century account of voyages to wonders beyond the known world of Irish monasticism, and the workof Christian bards in medieval Wales. Distinctions within the mystical tradition in England are also explored both within differing Religious Orders and bewtween individuals engaged with the contemplative life. Dr MARION GLASSCOE teaches in the School of English and American Studies at the University of Exeter. Contributors: THOMAS O'LOUGHLIN, OLIVER DAVIES, R. IESTYN DANIEL, RUTH SMITH, VALERIE EDDEN, DENISE N. BAKER, DENIS RENEVEY, E.A. JONES, RICHARD LAWES, NAOE KUKITA YOSHIKAWA, C. ANNETTE GRISE, JAMES HOGG

Female mysticism, usually nourished in contemplative surroundings, in Blannbekin's case drew its inspiration from urban life; Weidhaus identifies her visions as 'street mysticism'. This early example of a spiritual diary incorporating the visions of a female mystic offers a glimpse of religious women's daily life and spiritual practices. Agnes Blannbekin was from an Austrian farming family, but as a Beguinelived an urban life: Ulrike Weithaus refers to her experiences as 'street mysticism'. Blannbekin's spiritual life revolved around the liturgical cycles of the church year, but also embraced the opportunities and vagaries of city life. Her visions comment on memorable events such as a popular bishop's visit to town during which people were trampled to death; the consequences of a rape committed by a priest; thefts of the Eucharist and the work of witches. Christ, for Blannbekin, is not only bridegroom, but also shopkeeper, apothecary, and axe-wielding soldier, and it was her vision of swallowing Christ's foreskin which led to the eventual censorship of her works. Life and Revelations has only recently been rediscovered by Austrian scholar Peter Dinzelbacher, and this translation is based on his critical edition.

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.

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.

Is the Christian mystical tradition a relic of another time, shaped by celibates for celibates, unable to engage meaningfully with people of our time who embrace their corporeality and sexuality as crucial aspects of their journey towards union with God? This book reflects in serious theological depth and detail on the spiritual and sexual journeys of gay men of mature and committed Christian faith, employing the Christian mystical tradition as the lens and the interlocutor in this process. This study examines the major themes and stages of the mystical tradition as outlined by Evelyn Underhill, but also including more recent work by Ruth Burrows, Thomas Merton and Constance Fitzgerald. Using methods of qualitative research, it then considers the texts of in-depth interviews conducted with men, most of whom are theologians or spiritual leaders with a deep Catholic faith, and all of whom are openly, self-affirmingly gay. Finally, it employs Ricoeur's hermeneutical theory to engage in a creative theological conversation between the traditional mystical stages and themes and these men's lives, as described in their interviews. This is a unique study that brings together ancient spirituality with contemporary lived religion. As such, it will be of interest to scholars of religious studies, theology, Christian mysticism and spirituality, and queer studies. It will be of particular interest to those teach spiritual direction and to all who seek new ways to engage with the spiritual lives of LGBTIQ+ people.

If you're open to hearing God even when you're sleeping, your dreams can be a rich source of revelation and insight.

One man's dream saves his family from what could have been a deadly fire.

A fifty-two-year-old woman finally understands a dream she's been having since she was thirteen.

A policeman's dream warns a friend of a dangerous encounter with a suspect.

Church elders have the same dream about a change in the church's leadership.

A strange and frightening dream warns a mother of a potentially dangerous relationship in her son's life.

A dream confirms an East Indian man's decision to become a Christian.

As you read the details of these and other dreams that Dr. Greg Cynaumon describes you will find that they and the circumstances that surrounded them were more than conincidental. You will be convinced that God, who is concerned and involved in the lives of individuals, has somehting to say through dreams. And you won't want to miss His messages.

Dr. Cynaumon examines dreams from a perspective that is both scientific and biblical. He explores dream interpretation, explains some common dream symbols, and answers questions about dreams and their occurrences in Scripture. He also corrects several popular myths about dreams.

If you desire to unravel one of life's great mysteries but are wary of secular approaches to this subject, then you'll want to explore with Dr. Cynaumon how God still speaks through dreams.

Mysticism is not just for recluses: it is a totally practical path in the world that we all can choose. The mystic tradition teaches us that God is inherent in everything. What does this mean for the way we relate to creation with all its inhabitants and to the environment? How do we discover the presence of God within ourselves? How do we let compassion and commitment to justice characterise our lives so that we can practise mysticism in action? Annika Spalde writes powerfully from her own experience, highlighting women who have followed the path of mysticism. Julian of Norwich, Mechthild of Magdeburg and others help us understand what it is to open ourselves up to God's intense love for creation. She also explores female images of God, liberation from consumerism, and working for justice against violence and oppression. Exercises are included to help the reader practise spirituality in everyday life.

There was something in the air. There were rumours circulating, graffiti on the walls, strange tales of what had been happening. Messengers shouting in the street - What would it have been like to be a pilgrim on the crowded streets of Jerusalem for that fateful Passover? A week that ended with a King - a convicted enemy of the state - dying on a cross on the town garbage heap. Can we see through the eyes of those who were there, the people who witnessed the events? What can we learn from the man with the water jug, or the Roman centurion? What can the woman with the alabaster jar tell us, or the young man who ran away naked as Roman soldiers tried to seize him? What is their story? What did it all mean to them? How did that first Easter change their lives? The Cross in the Marketplace is a series of resources and complete liturgies for the major services of Holy Week. The book began life in community on Iona, and includes an Easter pilgrimage. You can use the book in your church or house group or read it on your own, to deepen your experience of Easter - and inspire action.

An account of the life and achievements of St Birgitta of Sweden, one of the most charismatic figures in the late medieval mystical tradition, founder of the Bridgettine order. St Birgitta of Sweden was one of the most charismatic figures in the late medieval mystical tradition. In Rome she succeeded in commanding prelates and popes, and throughout the courts of Europe she engaged in political secular intrigues; she married and produced eight children, yet became the only woman in the fourteenth century to be canonised; and in an age where new monastic foundations were proscribed, she founded an order of her own devising, primarily for women. This first modern biography presents an account of her extraordinary life and achievements, placing the saint in the context of the society from which she emerged, and showing how her public voice and reforming zealwere informed by a private spirituality at all stages of her life. Particular attention is given to her most lasting achievement, the monastic foundation which bears her name and has produced a network of communities throughout Europe, active to the present day. BRIDGET MORRIS is senior lecturer in Scandinavian studies at the University of Hull.

"While I was beseeching Our Lord today...I began to think of the soul as if it were a castle made of a single diamond or of very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms, just as in Heaven there are many mansions. "-- St. Teresa of Avila
A masterpiece of spiritual literature, this sixteenth-century work was inspired by a mystical vision that came upon the revered St. Teresa of Avila, one of the most gifted and beloved religious figures in history. St. Teresa's vision was of a luminous crystal castle composed of seven chambers, or "mansions," each representing a different stage in the development of the soul.
In her most important and widely read book, St. Teresa describes how, upon entering the castle through prayer and meditation, the human spirit experiences humility, detachment, suffering, and, ultimately, self-knowledge, as it roams from room to room. As the soul progresses further toward the center of the castle, it comes closer to achieving ineffable and perfect peace, and, finally, a divine communion with God.
A set of rare and beautiful teachings for people of all faiths desirous of divine guidance, this meticulous modern translation by E. Allison Peers breathes contemporary life into a religious classic.

Practical Mysticism in Islam and Christianity offers a comparative study of the works of the Sufi-poet Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) and the practical teachings of the German Dominican, Meister Eckhart (c1260-1327/8). Rumi has remained an influential figure in Islamic mystical discourse since the thirteenth century, while also extending his impact to the Western spiritual arena. However, his ideas have frequently been interpreted within the framework of other mystical, philosophical, or religious systems. Through its novel approach, this book aims to reformulate Rumi's practical mysticism by employing four methodological principles: a) mysticism is a coherent structure with mutual interconnection between its parts; b) the imposition of alien structures to interpret any particular mysticism damages its inward coherency; c) practical mysticism consists of two main parts, namely practices and stages; and d) the proper use of comparative methodology enables a deeper understanding of each juxtaposed system. Eckhart's speculative mysticism, which differs from and enjoys similarities with the love-based mysticism of Rumi, provides a "mirror" that highlights the special features of Rumi's practical mysticism. Such comparison also allows a deeper comprehension of Eckhart's practical thought. Offering a critical examination of practical mysticism, this book is a valuable resource for students and scholars of Islamic studies, comparative mysticism, and the intellectual history of Islam.

Birgitta's religious authority considered, with regard to her prophetic mission and her authenticity as a medium of divine revelation in 14c Europe. This book examines the religious authority of St Birgitta of Sweden, the charismatic moral reformer and controversial female visionary of the fourteenth century, emphasising both representations of her prophetic mission and debates about her authenticity as a medium of divine revelation. It illuminates Birgitta's view of herself as a prophet of moral reform by explaining how her Revelations depict her religious mission and place in salvation history, goingon to reconstruct interactions between Birgitta and her contemporaries, including the significance of her prophetic authority vis-a-vis the priestly authority of her male clerical associates. Finally, it analyses arguments aboutwomen's suitability for mediating the divine word in posthumous attacks and defences of her claims to prophesy. Through a close examination of Birgitta's lengthy Revelations, canonization documents, and texts by her posthumous defenders and detractors, this study demonstrates that members of her audience perceived her to be both a vibrant source of supernatural power and a dangerous transgressor of conventional boundaries. Informed by sociological studies of prophetic authority, it contributes to our knowledge of Birgitta herself as well as to our understanding of the dynamics of women's spiritual authority. Professor CLAIRE SAHLIN teaches at Texas Woman's University.

Well known for his appearances on TV and radio, as well as for his books Finding Sanctuary and Finding Happiness, Christopher Jamison once again shows his ability to communicate spiritual insights in an accessible way. Finding the Language of Grace: Rediscovering Transcendence focuses on the transcendent experiences of grace that we struggle to talk about in today's very business-like culture. Abbot Christopher shows how the ways we listen and speak, read and write can all be channels of grace. This is illustrated through books as diverse as the medieval legend of the Holy Grail, Silence by Japanese writer Shusaku Endo, the writings of Spanish mystics and the novels of Pulitzer Prize winner Marilynne Robinson. The power and the pain of grace resonate throughout the book, offering a new perspective on healing the loneliness and mistrust experienced by many, as well as on the turbulence and political extremes of today's world. How do we restore trust? How can we listen well? What is the right way to read the signs of the times? And how can we revitalise the language of grace in our day?

In 1981, six children in the small village of Medjugorje claimed that Our Lady had appeared to them. Since then millions of pilgrims have traveled from across the world to pray in this special place. In conversation with Finbar O'Leary, Vicka, one of the six, tells of her special relationship with Our Lady and relays many of the messages which she says the `Queen of Peace' has given to her. Vicka also discusses her own sufferings and the journeys on which Our Lady has brought her.