The Christology and Mystical Theology of Karl Rahner delineates what Rahner means by the mysticism of daily life, the mysticism of the masses, the mysticism of the classical masters, the difference between infused and awakened contemplation, the relation of mysticism to Christian perfection, and Rahner's controversial view that the mystical life does not require a special grace. It explores how Rahner embraces the person of Jesus Christ - whom Rahner sees as Christianity's center - both with his acute theological mind but also with his Jesuit heart. Who has better defined the human person as the ability to be God in the world, understood Jesus' humanity as God's human in the world, and boldly stated the difference between Jesus and other human beings that is only he is God's humanity in the world. The book also looks at Rahner's view of Jesus as the absolute savior, his ascending and descending Christology, his creative re-interpretation of Christ's death and resurrection, his seeking Christology, and his controversial anonymous Christian theory. Finally, it emphasizes the influence of St. Ignatius of Loyola on Rahner's thinking. Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises, especially their emphasis on God working immediately with the person, its Christology, and the rules for the discernment of spirits plays a key role in Rahner's overall theological view. Few Catholic theologians have taken Christian saints and mystics as theological sources as seriously as Rahner has.

Called in a special way to listen to God's whispers, the mystics amplify not only what it means to be baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ 'and to having the Trinity living in them 'but also what is deepest in the human spirit. Mystics experience themselves as an infinite question to which only God is the answer; as an immense longing that only Love can quench; as a nothing in the face of the No-Thing. They are God's fools, troubadours 'the great artists and poets of the interior life whose learned ignorance" articulates the art of loving God, neighbor, self, the Church, and the world.

In "Soundings in the Christian Mystical Tradition" Harvey Egan draws on fifty years of reading and teaching the mystics to sketch the varieties and passion of the mystical life across more than two millennia. Through their stories and words Egan reveals that al were conscious of the paradox of human identity 'supremely and unsurpassably manifested in the God-Man 'that the genuinely human is disclosed only through surrender to God and that the search for God cannot bypass the genuinely human.

"Harvey D. Egan, SJ, is the author of numerous works on Christian mysticism and the thought of Karl Rahner. He is currently professor of systematic and mystical theology at Boston College.""

Karl Rahner was the most influential Catholic theologian of the 20th century. His writings helped prepare the way for Vatican II and did much to shape the Church in the post-conciliar period. Because of his intellectual influence, however, his significant contributions to spirituality are often overlooked. In this book, a colleague of Rahner's (and fellow Jesuit) presents short passages of Rahner's work with clear and engaging explanation of Rahner's Christian mystical vision.

This comprehensive anthology will serve both as a text for serious students of mysticism and a reflective collection for those first exploring its thought. Biographical and historical data, as well as the mystic's key ideas and information about why the particular text was selected introduce each mystic to the reader.

Fifty-five mystics or mystical theologians, ancient and modern, are represented, including: Origen, Augustine of Hippo, Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure, Angela of Foligno, Catherine of Siena, the anonymous author of "Cloud of Unknowing, " Thomas a' Kempis, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Therese of Lisieux, Elizabeth of the Trinity, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Merton, and Karl Rahner.