Soundings in the Christian Mystical Tradition
Soundings in the Christian Mystical Tradition

Author: Harvey D. Egan

Publisher: Liturgical Press

Published: 2010-10-01

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 0814680038

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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 all 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.

Christian Mysticism
Christian Mysticism

Author: Harvey D. Egan SJ

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 1998-09-16

Total Pages: 456

ISBN-13: 1725206803

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Christian mysticism is unique in its view of Jesus' death and resurrection as the very cause and exemplar of the mystical life in all its purity. Jesus' saving death on the cross exemplifies the mystical letting-go of everything consoling, tangible and finite in order to surrender totally to the mystery of the Father's unconditional love. In this introduction to Christian mysticism, Reverend Harvey Egan, S.J. presents four Christian mystics as paradigms of the classical tradition: St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the unknown author of the Cloud of Unknowing. From this foundation he moves to two contemporary figures, Thomas Merton and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, each of whom reflects a contemporary transposition of the two mystical traditions, the apophatic, which emphasizes the radical difference between God and creatures, and the kataphatic, which emphasizes the similarity between God and creatures.

The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism
The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism

Author: Carl McColman

Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 1506486843

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From beloved spiritual teacher Carl McColman comes a book about big possibility: the hope of achieving authentic, blissful, experiential union with God. He reveals the various ways Christian mysticism and contemplation have been in dynamic practice through the centuries, proving inspirational for today's seekers, regardless of faith tradition.

Paul: Christianity's Premier Apostolic Mystic
Paul: Christianity's Premier Apostolic Mystic

Author: Harvey D. Egan

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-03-26

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1725291517

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Harvey Egan argues that the apostle Paul was Christianity’s earliest mystic, and the world’s greatest missionary, one whom scholars estimate walked over fifteen hundred miles—not to mention his dangerous sea journeys—to plant the flag of Lord Jesus in Roman colonies where Caesar was supposedly lord. This book stresses Paul’s mystical consciousness and mystical life—the explicit and direct consciousness of the immediate and direct presence of the Trinity and/or Jesus-Messiah. It underscores mystical experience not only as discrete, individual experiences but also as experience in the sense that an experienced musician instinctively knows and loves music. From the light issuing from the risen Jesus-Messiah, whom he encountered on the Damascus road, Paul mystically read the Jewish Scriptures and comprehended that God consummated Israel’s history through the sending of Jesus-Messiah and the Holy Spirit. Paul’s letters are paradigmatic of the earliest use of the word “mystical,” that is, how the Jewish Scriptures disclose Jesus-Messiah. Thus, Paul, the zealous Jewish Pharisee, grew to understand Christianity as Judaism perfected.

Paul: Christianity’s Premier Apostolic Mystic
Paul: Christianity’s Premier Apostolic Mystic

Author: Harvey D. Egan SJ

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-03-26

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 1725291525

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Harvey Egan argues that the apostle Paul was Christianity's earliest mystic, and the world's greatest missionary, one whom scholars estimate walked over fifteen hundred miles--not to mention his dangerous sea journeys--to plant the flag of Lord Jesus in Roman colonies where Caesar was supposedly lord. This book stresses Paul's mystical consciousness and mystical life--the explicit and direct consciousness of the immediate and direct presence of the Trinity and/or Jesus-Messiah. It underscores mystical experience not only as discrete, individual experiences but also as experience in the sense that an experienced musician instinctively knows and loves music. From the light issuing from the risen Jesus-Messiah, whom he encountered on the Damascus road, Paul mystically read the Jewish Scriptures and comprehended that God consummated Israel's history through the sending of Jesus-Messiah and the Holy Spirit. Paul's letters are paradigmatic of the earliest use of the word "mystical," that is, how the Jewish Scriptures disclose Jesus-Messiah. Thus, Paul, the zealous Jewish Pharisee, grew to understand Christianity as Judaism perfected.

Christian Mystics
Christian Mystics

Author: Carl McColman

Publisher: Broadleaf Books

Published: 2021-11-16

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1506485774

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Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages celebrates the many types of mystics, visionaries, wisdom keepers, and non-dualists whose spiritual insight and perceptive teachings have illuminated the Christian tradition for the past two thousand years. Looking at 108 mystics from Biblical times to the present day, this user-friendly guide shows how the spiritual masters of the western tradition provide a variety of paths into the transforming heart of God. Everyone needs teachers and companions to guide and nurture us in developing rich interior lives -- as we seek to respond to the beatifying, deifying love of God. The mystics, whose legacy includes sublime poetry, fascinating autobiographies, and potentially life-changing teachings, can help anyone find greater love, purpose, and a deeper sense of God's presence. But the mystics are not a uniform bunch, which is why this book is such an essential guide to their lives, wisdom, and essential teachings. Carl McColman, author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, organizes the mystics into nine categories: visionaries, confessors, lovers, poets, saints, heretics, wisdom keepers, soul-friends, and unitives. By profiling twelve examples of great mystics and spiritual teachers in each category, the book can help you to learn more about the mystics, and identify those whose writings will be most valuable to you as you pursue your own adventure of falling ever more deeply in love with God.All of the most famous Christian mystics are profiled here: figures like Teresa of çvila, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, John of the Cross, Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Merton, and anonymous masters like the authors of classics like The Cloud of Unknowing or The Way of a Pilgrim. But the book also will introduce you to many lesser known (but truly wonderful) mystical geniuses, such as Beatrice of Nazareth, Gregory of Narek, and Coventry Patmore. Nor does the book shy away from living (or recently living) mystics: visionaries such as Howard Thurman, Sara Grant, Kenneth Leech, and Bruno Barnhart are all included.This informative volume will appeal to those who buy religious reference books and anyone interested in Christian mysticism or western spirituality. But it's more than just a history book or an encyclopedia: Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages is a curated celebration of western spiritual wisdom, making it accessible for all seekers today.

A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism
A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism

Author: Robert Aleksander Maryks

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2017-03-06

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 9004340750

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In A Companion to Jesuit Mysticism, Robert A. Maryks provides thirteen unique essays discussing the Jesuit mystical tradition, a somewhat neglected aspect of Jesuit historiography that stretches as far back as the order’s co-founder, Ignatius of Loyola, his spiritual visions at Manresa, and ultimately the mystical perspective contained in his Spiritual Exercises. The volume’s contributions on the most significant representatives of the Jesuit mystical tradition—from Baltasar Álvarez to Louis Lallemant to Hugo Makibi Enomiya-Lassalle—aim to fill this lacuna in Jesuit historiography. Although intended primarily as a handbook for scholars seeking to further their own research in this area, the volume will undoubtedly be of interest to scholars and students of Jesuit studies more broadly.

Practical Mysticism in Islam and Christianity
Practical Mysticism in Islam and Christianity

Author: Saeed Zarrabi-Zadeh

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-01-29

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 1317329112

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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.

Love
Love

Author: Barbara H. Rosenwein

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-09-21

Total Pages: 151

ISBN-13: 1509531866

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We make sense of love with fantasies, stories that shape feelings that are otherwise too overwhelming, incoherent, and wayward to be tamed. For love is a complex, bewildering, and ecstatic emotion covering a welter of different feelings and moral judgments. Drawing on poetry, fiction, letters, memoirs, and art, and with the aid of a rich array of illustrations, historian Barbara H. Rosenwein explores five of our most enduring fantasies of love: like-minded union, transcendent rapture, selfless giving, obsessive longing, and insatiable desire. Each has had a long and tangled history with lasting effects on how we in the West think about love today. Yet each leads to a different conclusion about what we should strive for in our relationships. If only we could peel back the layers of love and discover its “true” essence. But love doesn’t work like that; it is constructed on the shards of experience, story, and feeling, shared over time, intertwined with other fantasies. By understanding the history of how we have loved, Rosenwein argues, we may better navigate our own tumultuous experiences and perhaps write our own scripts.