Thomas Merton's lectures to the young monastics at the Abbey of Gethsemani provide a good look at Merton the scholar. A Course in Christian Mysticism gathers together, for the first time, the best of these talks into a spiritual, historical, and theological survey of Christian mysticism-from St. John's gospel to St. John of the Cross. Sixteen centuries are covered over thirteen lectures. A general introduction sets the scene for when and how the talks were prepared and for the perennial themes one finds in them, making them relevant for spiritual seekers today. This compact volume allows anyone to learn from one of the twentieth century's greatest Catholic spiritual teachers. The study materials at the back of the book, including additional primary source readings and thoughtful questions for reflection and discussion, make this an essential text for any student of Christian mysticism.

The mythical story of fallen angels preserved in 1 Enoch and related literature was profoundly influential during the Second Temple period. In this volume renowned scholar Loren Stuckenbruck explores aspects of that influence and demonstrates how the myth was reused and adapted to address new religious and cultural contexts. Stuckenbruck considers a variety of themes, including demonology, giants, exorcism, petitionary prayer, the birth and activity of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the conversion of Gentiles, "apocalyptic" and the understanding of time, and more. He also offers a theological framework for the myth of fallen angels through which to reconsider several New Testament texts-the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John, Acts, Paul's letters, and the book of Revelation.

Since its rediscovery in 1934, the fifteenth-century Book of Margery Kempe has become a canonical text for students of medieval Christian mysticism and spirituality. Its author was a fifteenth-century English laywoman who, after the birth of her first child, experienced vivid religious visions and vowed to lead a deeply religious life while remaining part of the secular world. After twenty years, Kempe began to compose with the help of scribes a book of consolation, a type of devotional writing found in late medieval religious culture that taught readers how to find spiritual comfort and how to feel about one's spiritual life. In Margery Kempe and the Lonely Reader, Rebecca Krug shows how and why Kempe wrote her Book, arguing that in her engagement with written culture she discovered a desire to experience spiritual comfort and to interact with fellow believers who also sought to live lives of intense emotional engagement.An unlikely candidate for authorship in the late medieval period given her gender and lack of formal education, Kempe wrote her Book as a revisionary act. Krug shows how the Book reinterprets concepts from late medieval devotional writing (comfort, despair, shame, fear, and loneliness) in its search to create a spiritual community that reaches out to and includes Kempe, her friends, family, advisers, and potential readers. Krug offers a fresh analysis of the Book as a written work and draws attention to the importance of reading, revision, and collaboration for understanding both Kempe's particular decision to write and the social conditions of late medieval women's authorship.

A memoir, first published in 1974, which also relates 'encounters' of the author and others with God. It has the ambitious and controversial aim of defending Christian mysticism. It affirms that "daily coming to God in prayer is as great an evidence of being the Lord's" as mystical converse with God. Yet for some the question is instead whether mysticism can provide such evidence at all, since the experiences are "so rare and personal it is quite impossible to convey to others what is enjoyed". They conclude that mysticism is at odds with both sound doctrine and good sense. Murdoch Campbell replies with a remarkable knowledge and use of Scripture, and carryies the believer into his and others' experience of God's presence.

For centuries readers have comfortably accepted Julian of Norwich as simply a mystic. In this astute book, Denys Turner offers a new interpretation of Julian and the significance of her work. Turner argues that this fourteenth-century thinker's sophisticated approach to theological questions places her legitimately within the pantheon of other great medieval theologians, including Thomas Aquinas, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Bonaventure. Julian wrote but one work in two versions, a Short Text recording the series of visions of Jesus Christ she experienced while suffering a near-fatal illness, and a much expanded Long Text exploring the theological meaning of the "showings" some twenty years later. Turner addresses the apparent conflict between the two sources of Julian's theology: on the one hand, her personal revelation of God's omnipotent love, and on the other, the Church's teachings on and her own witnessing of evil in the world that deserves punishment, even eternal punishment. Offering a fresh and elegant account of Julian's response to this conflict-one that reveals its nuances, systematic character, and originality-this book marks a new stage in the century-long rediscovery of one of the English language's greatest theological thinkers.

The Dionysian Mystical Theology introduces the Pseudo-Dionysian "mystical theology," with glimpses at key stages in its interpretation and critical reception through the centuries. In part one, the elusive Areopagite's own miniature essay, The Mystical Theology, is quoted in its entirety, sentence by sentence, with commentary. lts cryptic contents would be almost impenetrable withoutjudicious reference to the rest of the Dionysian corpus: The Divine Names, The Celestial Hierarchy, The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, and the ten Letters. Of special importance is the Dionysian use of negations in an "apophatic" theology that recognizes the transcendence of God beyond human words and concepts. Stages in the reception and critique of this Greek corpus and theme are sketched in part two: first, the initial sixth-century introduction and marginal comments (Scholia) by John of Scythopolis; second, the early Latin translation and commentary by the ninth-century Carolingian Eriugena and the twelfth-century commentary by the Parisian Hugh of St. Victor; and third, the critical reaction and opposition by Martin Luther in the Reformation.In conclusion, the Dionysian apophatic is presented alongside other forms of negative theology in light of modern and postmodern interests in the subject.

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.

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.

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.

Scholars of the patristic era have paid more attention to the dogmatic tradition in their period than to the development of Christian mystical theology. Andrew Louth aims to redress the balance. Recognizing that the intellectual form of this tradition was decisively influenced by Platonic ideas of the soul's relationship to God, Louth begins with an examination of Plato and Platonism. The discussion of the Fathers, which follows shows how, the mystical tradition is at the heart of their thought and how the dogmatic tradition both moulds and is the reflection of mystical insights and concerns. This new edition of a classic study of the diverse influences upon Christian spirituality includes a new Epilogue, which brings the text completely up to date.

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.

"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).