The Universal Christ Study Group Has Finally Finished Our Book

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

The Universal Christ Study Group has finally finished our book. It took us nine months to read and discuss it deeply. We have enjoyed our time together so much that we want to continue. We have chosen our next book and will start meeting on September 14. Journey to the Heart: Christian Contemplation through the Centuries - An Illustrated Guide • Paperback: 353 pages • Publisher: Orbis Books; Illustrated Guide edition (January 10, 2012) • ISBN-10: 1570759383 • ISBN-13: 978-1570759383 • Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.2 x 8.8 inches The contemplative tradition in Christianity traces its origins back to Mt. Carmel, the prophet Elijah s mountain-top place of encounter with divine power. In the Gospels, we frequently read that Jesus withdrew to quiet places to pray. These biblical precedents have inspired a tradition of contemplation through the centuries and this remarkable book reveals the life and teachings of the great Christian mystics. There are 30 chapters in the book, each one addresses a different mystic or mystical tradition. Jesus Dante Alighieri St. John and St. Paul Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton, and Margery Kempe Clement of Alexandria The Cloud of Unknowing Origen Julian of Norwich Early Christianity and the Gospel of Thomas St. Ignatius Loyola The Cappadocian Fathers St. Teresa of Avila The Desert Tradition St. John of the Cross Evagrius of Pontus George Herbert and Thomas Traherne John Cassian The Jesus Prayer St. Augustine of Hippo Evelyn Underhill St. Benedict Etty Hillesum Hildegard von Bingen Thomas Merton St. Francis Swami Abhishiktananda St. Dominic Bede Griffiths Meister Eckhart John Main The chapters are written by a variety of well-known Christian writers. Each chapter is about 12- 17 pages long, enough to give a sense of the person or tradition and some excerpts from their teaching. This will be another long study. However, since each chapter stands alone, it will be more possible for people to come in and out of the group. We meet at 1 pm on Mondays, these days via Zoom. We invite anyone who is interested to join us. Call Daisy Kirkpatrick 733-7143 for more information or to join the group. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Medieval-Renaissance Studies Program NEW COLLEGE of USF 5700 N
Medieval-Renaissance Studies Program NEW COLLEGE OF USF 5700 N. Tamiami Trail Sarasota, Florida 34243-2197 THE ELEVENTH BIENNIAL NEW COLLEGE CONFERENCE ON MEDIEVAL-RENAISSANCE STUDIES Sarasota, Florida March 12, 13, 14, 1998 I 1998 Conference Summar A B c D E Italian Art History Medieval Renais- 1998 Conference Summary Studies History Literature sance Literature D E A B c Medieval Renais- Session V Chronicles, Northern Late Dante: New Italian Art History Literature sance Friday Notaries, Italian Medieval Poetry Readings Studies History Literature 9-10:30 and Wills Paintings Nether- & Poetics of Hamlet AM lands I Early Medieval Italian Session I Civic Dante Medieval German Literature Thursday Humanism II History Literature Session VI Dressing Dante Late Italian Hamlet 9-10:30 Friday Women, In Renais- Medieval Intertext- II AM 11-12;30 Sex and sance Nether- ualities AM Marriage Art lands II Renais- Religion Medi evalia Medieval Chretien Session II sance and /Medieval- Spain de Troyes Thursday French Plenary 2:00 PM Alison "New New Politics isms l I-12:30 Literature Session I: Macmillan Men, Mores?" AM Brown: Medieval Northern Session Piety Italian Huizinga Sexuality Italian Session III Bishops, Late Medieval French Humanism vn & Renais- and New m Literary Thursday Nuns, Renais- English Literature Friday Politics sance Interpreta- Medieval Explora- 2-3:30 & Reform sance History Rome 3:30-5 Painting tion Literature tions PM PM Medieval Teaching Session IV Domestic Renais- War Individual: Shake- Thursday Life sance and Theory to speare 3:45-5: 15 Sculpture Chivalry Practice 1998 Conference Summar PM Session Renais- Early Burgun- Medieval English VIII sance Italian dian Music Literature Reception Bayfront Saturday Politics Art Studies and & Politics 5:30-7:00 9-10:30 Culture AM Plenary Saturday Linda "Consider Flowers Session II 11:00AM Seidel: the Lilies: in 15th C.
[Show full text]
Introduction to Evelyn Underhill, “Church Congress Syllabus No. 3: the Christian Doctrine of Sin and Salvation, Part III: Worship”
ATR/100.3 Introduction to Evelyn Underhill, “Church Congress Syllabus No. 3: The Christian Doctrine of Sin and Salvation, Part III: Worship” Kathleen Henderson Staudt* This short piece by Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941) appeared in a publication from the US Church Congress movement in the 1930s. It presents a remarkably concise summary of her major thought from this period.1 By this time, she was a well-known voice among Angli- cans. Indeed, Archbishop Michael Ramsey wrote that “in the twenties and thirties there were few, if indeed, any, in the Church of England who did more to help people to grasp the priority of prayer in the Christian life and the place of the contemplative element within it.”2 Underhill’s major work, Mysticism, continuously in print since its first publication in 1911, reflects at once Underhill’s broad scholarship on the mystics of the church, her engagement with such contemporaries as William James and Henri Bergson, and, perhaps most important, her curiosity and insight into the ways that the mystics’ experiences might inform the spiritual lives of ordinary people.3 The title of a later book, Practical Mysticism: A Little Book for Normal People (1914) summarizes what became most distinctive in Underhill’s voice: her ability to fuse the mystical tradition with the homely and the * Kathleen Henderson Staudt works as a teacher, poet, and spiritual director at Virginia Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary. Her poetry, essays, and reviews have appeared in Weavings, Christianity and Literature, Sewanee Theo- logical Review, Ruminate, and Spiritus. She is an officer of the Evelyn Underhill As- sociation, and facilitates the annual day of quiet held in honor of Underhill in Wash- ington, DC each June.
[Show full text]
Theology Is Everywhere 2.3: the Path of Mysticism Cosmology
Theology is Everywhere 2.3: The Path of Mysticism Cosmology & Worldview The Paradox of the Mystical Life Mysticism defined Figurative Language Poetry & Mysticism Other Paradoxes: the Particular and the Universal Christian Mysticism - Imitation of Christ Mystical Interpretation: allegory. St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582): Nada te turbe…sola Dios basta! Via Negativa (Apophatic Theology) & Via Positiva (Cataphatic Theology) Mystical Union: Ecstacy (Standing outside oneself) The Mystic Path: The Science of Removing Mental Limitations 1. The Awakening: 2. Purgation 3. Illumination 4. The Dark Night of the Soul: Embracing times of shadow 5. Union With the Divine: Ultimate Reality Be lover and Beloved Hesychasm: Divine Silence Embraced by Uncreated Light Walking the Labyrinth So what’s a mystic? Mysticism & Intimacy with God: Jesus and his Friend “I am my beloved’s and he is mine.” ~ Song of Solomon 2:16 Evelyn Underhill quote: “Mysticism offers us the history, as old as civilization, of a race of adventurers who have carried to its term the process of a deliberate and active return to the divine fount of things. They have surrendered themselves to the life-movement of the universe, hence have lived an intenser life than other beings can even know…. Therefore they witness to all that our latent spiritual consciousness, which shows itself in the ‘hunger for the absolute,’ can be made to mean to us if we develop it, and have in this respect an unique importance for the race.”~ Mysticism Ethics and Mysticism: Howard Thurman "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that.
[Show full text]
The Book of Margery Kempe- Medieval Mysticism and Sanity Abstract: Since the Discovery of Margery Kempe's Book the Validity O
1 The Book of Margery Kempe- Medieval Mysticism and Sanity Abstract: Since the discovery of Margery Kempe’s Book the validity of her visionary experiences has been called scrutinized by those within the literary and medical communies. Indeed there were many individuals when The Book was written, including her very own scribe, who have questioned Kempe’s sanity. Kempe claimed herself to be an unusual woman who was prone to visionary experiences of divine nature that were often accompanied by loud lamenting, crying, and shaking and self-inflicted punishment. By admission these antics were off-putting to many and at times even disturbing to those closest to her. But is The Book of Margery Kempe a tale of madness? It is unfair to judge all medieval mystics as hysterics. Margery Kempe through her persistence and use of scribes has given a first-hand account of life as a mystic in the early 15th century. English Literature 2410-1N Fall/2011 Deb Koelling 2 The Book of Margery Kempe- Medieval Mysticism and Sanity The Book Margery Kempe tells the story of medieval mystic Margery Kempe’s transformation from sinner to saint by her own recollections, beginning at the time of the birth of her first of 14 children. Kempe (ca. 1373-1438) tells of being troubled by an unnamed sin, tortured by the devil, and being locked away, with her hands bound for fear she would injure herself; for greater than six months, when she had her first visionary experience of Jesus dressed in purple silk by her bedside. Kempe relates: Our merciful Lord Christ Jesus, ever
[Show full text]
Download Timeline Cards
APPENDIX 4 THE TRADITION TIMELINE CARDS uotations from Masters in the Christian Contemplative Tradition Be still and know that I am God. PSALM 46:10 Peace is my parting gi to you, my own peace, such as the world cannot give. Set your troubled hearts at rest and banish your fears… I have spoken these words to you so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. Blessing from JESUS Gospel according to St John 14:27, 15:11 e Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. When we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit expresses that plea in a way that could never be put into words. ST PAUL Letter to the Romans 8:26 It is better to be silent and real than to alk and be unreal. ST IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH 35–108 An Apostolic Father, he was the third Bishop of Antioch and was a student of John the Apostle. Tradition says that he was one of the children Jesus took in his arms and blessed. He was sentenced to die at the Coliseum. A man’s life is short when measured against the time to come... Let us persevere in our acts of asceticism, that we may not become weary and disheartened. St Anthony also known as ANTHONY THE GREAT 251–356 Christian hermit and monk, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers. He was over 100 years old when he died. e mind should unceasingly cling to the formula*. Until strengthened by continual use of i, it casts oﬀ and rejects the rich and ample matter of all kinds of though, and restricts itself to the poverty of the single verse.
[Show full text]
A Response to Grypma & Commentary on Mysticism
69059 JCNSummer06 05/03/2006 12:26 PM Page 27 A Response to Grypma & Commentary on Mysticism BY BARBARA MONTGOMERY DOSSEY “MYSTICISM ...IS NOT AN OPINION: IT IS NOT A PHILOSOPHY. It has nothing in common with the pursuit of occult knowledge.On the one hand,it is not merely the power of contemplating Eter- nity: on the other, it is not to be identified with any kind of religious queerness. It is the name of that organic process which involves the perfect consummation of the Love of God: the achieve- ment here and now of the immortal heritage of man.Or,if you like it better—for this means exactly the same thing—it is the art of establishing his conscious relation with the Absolute.”1 E VELYN U NDERHILL,MYSTICISM, 1911 extend my thanks to Dr. founder3 of modern secular nursing. nitions and criteria according to which Grypma2 and the Journal of However, there are many issues on Nightingale qualifies as a full-fledged, Christian Nursing for atten- which Dr. Grypma and I disagree in nineteenth-century “practical mystic.” tion to Florence Nightin- our analysis of Nightingale.We seem to What does Dr. Grypma consider a gale (1820-1910), the be far apart on the essential meanings mystic to be? I am left wondering.This philosophical and practical of terms such as “mystic,”“mysticism” does not prevent her, however, from and “spirituality”—yet it is difficult to suggesting that the classification of ■ Barbara Montgomery know for certain because Dr. Grypma Nightingale as a mystic is a “New Age” Dossey, PhD, FAAN, RN, is nowhere defines explicitly what she and “postmodern” move.
[Show full text]
Sche Knelyd Upon Hir Kneys, Hir Boke in Hir Hand: Manuscript Travel, Devotional Pedagogy, and the Textual Communities of the Book of Margery Kemp
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2006-7: Penn Humanities Forum Undergraduate Travel Research Fellows April 2007 Sche knelyd upon hir kneys, hir boke in hir hand: Manuscript Travel, Devotional Pedagogy, and the Textual Communities of The Book of Margery Kemp Sara Gorman University of Pennsylvania Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2007 Gorman, Sara, "Sche knelyd upon hir kneys, hir boke in hir hand: Manuscript Travel, Devotional Pedagogy, and the Textual Communities of The Book of Margery Kemp" (2007). Undergraduate Humanities Forum 2006-7: Travel. 4. https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2007/4 2006-2007 Penn Humanities Forum on Travel, Undergraduate Mellon Research Fellows. URL: http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu/06-07/uhf_fellows.shtml This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/uhf_2007/4 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Sche knelyd upon hir kneys, hir boke in hir hand: Manuscript Travel, Devotional Pedagogy, and the Textual Communities of The Book of Margery Kemp Abstract The simplest, and yet most knotty, place to start with The Book of Margery Kempe is to ask plainly: what is it? It has most frequently been proclaimed the first autobiography in English, seemingly more as a marketing ploy than as a result of careful analysis of genre. In reality, Kempe's book occupies an uncomfortable space between first person and third person, written (and even this is problematic) by a self who calls herself "this creature." Yet it is not hagiography either. The Book falls short of the criteria of hagiography for practical reasons – to name only a few, Margery Kempe has not been canonized and she has no proper "vita," the primary criterion for which is posthumous creation.
[Show full text]
Evelyn Underhill's Concept of Mysticism and Its Relation To
This material has been provided by Asbury Theological Seminary in good faith of following ethical procedures in its production and end use. The Copyright law of the united States (title 17, United States code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyright material. Under certain condition specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to finish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. By using this material, you are consenting to abide by this copyright policy. Any duplication, reproduction, or modification of this material without express written consent from Asbury Theological Seminary and/or the original publisher is prohibited. Contact B.L. Fisher Library Asbury Theological Seminary 204 N. Lexington Ave. Wilmore, KY 40390 B.L. Fisher Library’s Digital Content place.asburyseminary.edu Asbury Theological Seminary 205 North Lexington Avenue 800.2ASBURY Wilmore, Kentucky 40390 asburyseminary.edu Evelyn Underbill's Concept of Mysticism and Its Relation to Common Misrepresentations by Kendra Irons A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS ASBURY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 1993 Approved by CJh^y^^MjJ^-^^^ .
[Show full text]
Revisions Made to Reflect the Spiritual Growth of a Specific Reader
Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Undergraduate Student Research Awards Information Literacy Committee 2019 Richard Rolle: Revisions Made to Reflect the Spiritual Growth of a Specific Reader Claire Siewert Trinity University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/infolit_usra Repository Citation Siewert, Claire, "Richard Rolle: Revisions Made to Reflect the Spiritual Growth of a Specific Reader" (2019). Undergraduate Student Research Awards. 57. https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/infolit_usra/57 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Information Literacy Committee at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Student Research Awards by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Claire Siewert Dr. Andrew Kraebel December 8, 2019 Richard Rolle: Revisions Made to Reflect the Spiritual Growth of a Specific Reader Richard Rolle’s “Þi ioy be ilke a dele” is preserved incompletely in Lincoln, Cathedral Library 91, lacking five stanzas owing to the loss of a leaf after fol. 222v. As with other Rolle lyrics, “Þi ioy” is written in monorhymed quatrains, with internal rhyme in each stanza at the caesura. In its complete form, the poem also appears in Cambridge, University Library MS Dd.5.64, part 3, and in Warminster, Marquess of Bath, Longleat MS 29. In Dd.5.64, the last ten stanzas, here lines 49-88, are written as a separate poem, while in the Lincoln and Longleat manuscripts the poem is written as a single continuous piece of verse. The multiple presentations of this poem introduce the possibility of authorial revisions made in light of the author’s knowledge of the audience.
[Show full text]
Margery Kempe: Madwoman Or Mystic – a Narrative Approach to the Representation of Madness and Mysticism in Medieval England
University of Huddersfield Repository Torn, Alison Margery Kempe: Madwoman or Mystic – A Narrative Approach to the Representation of Madness and Mysticism in Medieval England Original Citation Torn, Alison (2008) Margery Kempe: Madwoman or Mystic – A Narrative Approach to the Representation of Madness and Mysticism in Medieval England. In: Narrative and Fiction: an Interdisciplinary Approach. University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, pp. 79-89. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/4830/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ 9 Margery Kempe: Madwoman or Mystic – A Narrative Approach to the Representation of Madness and Mysticism in Medieval England ALISON TORN Introduction Historically, the boundaries between madness and mysticism have been characterised by fluidity. However, since the emergence of psychiatry in the 1800s, attempts have been made to place a firm distinction between the two experiences.
[Show full text]
From Mysticism to the Gospel
FROM MYSTICISM TO THE GOSPEL The Story of the Reformation within the Eastern Orthodox Church and Why Contemplative prayer is a sign of apostasy among evangelicals PAUL DAN California 2009 From Mysticism to the Gospel And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 Copyright © 2009 by Paul Dan All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means - electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwise —without prior permission in writing from the author, unless it is for the furtherance of the Gospel of salvation and given away free of charge. Brief quotations for reviews are however allowed, provided that they respect the context and author’s intention. 2 From Mysticism to the Gospel CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 5 Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................................................... 5 Important Note ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 PART ONE ..................................................................................................................................................................
[Show full text]
Erotic Devotion: Richard Rolle's the Form of Living
Erotic Devotion: Richard Rolle's The Form of Living Clare Davidson University of Western Australia This article considers Richard Rolle's use of erotic imagery and romantic metaphor in his popular fourteenth-century devotional manual, The Form of Living. The Form engaged a widespread community of readers through the glorification of desire and pleasure, which were sanctified by merit of Christ, the lover that Rolle encouraged his readers to woo. While the use of language in the text is inclusive, allowing all readers to become lovers of Christ, the text is addressed to the particular needs of an ideal reader—a celibate anchorite in a nuptial relationship with him as a man—and thus also allows readers to participate in an exclusive romance as an observer. This article will examine The Form's popularity within a diverse readership, arguing that the spiritual and bodily romance Rolle constructed between an imagined lover and Christ is central to its appeal to all Middle English readers. Richard Rolle's The Form of Living, a fourteenth-century religious manual, uses descriptions of sensuous religious love to appeal to a diverse range of readers. Though the text was purportedly constructed as an instructional guidebook for a female recluse dedicated to loving Christ, as a devotional work it proved exceptionally popular. Rolle engaged with his readers through the celebration of desire, romance, and eroticism, welcoming them into an intimate relationship that was developed between him as the author, the anchorite he addresses throughout the text and, most significantly, Christ. Rolle encouraged the reader to move through various stages of loving Christ, and the sensual aspects of late Middle English spirituality form a gradus amoris of love and desire beginning with identification of Christ as the love object and culminating in erotic fulfilment.
[Show full text]