Early Christianity, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Mysticism

The central aspect of mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more is the concept and experience of personal union with ultimate reality. A key facet of this union is the discovery that so much of what we seek is found inside ourselves. Often, this unifying principle is loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more. Eastern religions, however, generally believe that the means to realize unity with the eternal divine essencethe English word generally used for the Greek term ousia, that is also translated as “being” or “substance” and refers to that which makes something what it is such as human nature is the essence of a human being. This... more is through the loss of personal identity and/or attachment to temporalIs a technical term used in theology referring to this mortal physical existence in time as opposed to eternal divine existence outside of time. more things. This supernaturalIs a theological concept developed in Roman Catholic theology primarily by Thomas Aquinas that maintains that God dispenses his grace in at various times and places in ways that not only assist the natural world including human nature, but also... more union is typically associated with an ecstatic experience and ultimate fulfillment.

A mystic’s journey is typically aided by a master who guides his followers along a path of enlightenment. This path typically involves living a disciplined, ascetic lifestyle, often involving extended periods of time in meditation while isolated from mundane human contact. Purification of the carnal self is a vital part of the mystic’s path. Even though mystics are generally less concerned with formal religious rituals, they typically follow a rigorous path that could be seen as ritualistic.

The third common aspect of mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more involves the pursuit of special knowledge to unlock the mysteries of eternity. The term mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more comes from the early Greek mystery cults in which individuals passed through various levels to become increasingly capable of receiving more hidden truth. Mysticism often follows this pattern of stages of progression along the path of enlightenment.

Mystical monism is the most common type of mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more. The dictionary defines monism as “1. a.: a view that there is only one kind of ultimate substance. b.: the view that reality is one unitary organic whole with no independent part.”1 Hinduism is based on this premise. Hindus believe that one ultimate reality exists beyond our temporalIs a technical term used in theology referring to this mortal physical existence in time as opposed to eternal divine existence outside of time. more world and that one may gain a glimpse of it through the symbolism and rituals found in religion. All Hinduism’s 330 million gods simply act as signs directing us to this one metaphysical ultimate reality. Buddhism goes one step further and rejects the idea of an ultimate essencethe English word generally used for the Greek term ousia, that is also translated as “being” or “substance” and refers to that which makes something what it is such as human nature is the essence of a human being. This... more and the goal of becoming blissfully reunited with it. Instead, the goal is to extinguish all desire and attachment so one achieves unity with the stillness and peace of the void of nothingness, nirvanaThe ultimate goal in most Eastern religions referring to the end of the cycle of existence in the phenomenal world. This term in primarily associated with Buddhism, that teaches it is achieved through the extinction of the fire of life... more.

The distinguished professor of comparative religion at King’s College, London Geoffrey Parrinder, identified another general type of mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more that he called theistic mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more which is found in Judaism, Christianity and IslamIs one of the three Abrahamic religions (Christianity and Judaism the other two) that stresses the importance of the only one true God and man’s forgetfulness as source of sin. The religion was founded by Muhammad in the early 7th... more. The central teaching of the ZoharThe is the classical text of the Jewish mystic traditions, Kabbalah, that was first written down in 13th century Spain but is attributed to the oral law given to Moses as related by Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai in the 2nd-century... more and KabbalahIs a mystical Jewish tradition that according to legend originated with Moses but was not articulated in substantive writing until the 12th century when it became a more prominent influence in Judaism. more in Judaism is the idea that humans can experience the multiple faces or lights of God’s being in different ways. The ZoharThe is the classical text of the Jewish mystic traditions, Kabbalah, that was first written down in 13th century Spain but is attributed to the oral law given to Moses as related by Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai in the 2nd-century... more further teaches that loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more is the force that unites everything, and as such it is the secret of divine unity. Similarly, in IslamIs one of the three Abrahamic religions (Christianity and Judaism the other two) that stresses the importance of the only one true God and man’s forgetfulness as source of sin. The religion was founded by Muhammad in the early 7th... more, a renowned eighth-century SufiRefers to Muslims who follow a mystical understanding of Islam and include followers from both the Shi’ite and Sunni branches of Islam. more, Rabi’a al-Adawiyya, focused on the loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more of God as the sole path to realize unity with God, our creator, our sustainer, and our beloved friend. Another early SufiRefers to Muslims who follow a mystical understanding of Islam and include followers from both the Shi’ite and Sunni branches of Islam. more, al-Hallaj, was martyred for proclaiming his mystical union with truth and by extension, with God.2

Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee… I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do…And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are…

And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves… Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us… that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me… I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the clove wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.3

This mystical power changed the lives of early Christians and set them apart from their neighbors. They became different. This led to persecution, but it didn’t faze them, creating even more suspicionA philosophical concept articulated by Paul Ricoeur that some doubts drives the interpretation of consciousness as false. more and curious converts. Romans viewed early Christian converts as ignorant, superstitious fanatics who engaged in strange and disgusting practices. They described the Christian worship services as weird meetings in which members drank human blood and ate human flesh while engaging in orgies in the dark catacombs outside of the city at night. 4

The Eucharist more has been a subject of Christian mystical ideas down through the ages, especially after the Catholic Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more officially adopted transubstantiationRoman Catholic doctrine, developed in the 13th century, that the bread and wine literally changes to become the literal body and blood of Christ when the priest pronounces consecration of these elements during the Mass. Protestants reject the dogma of... more as official doctrineis derived from the Latin word for teaching, doctrina, and is an important aspect of Christianity more so than other world religions because Christianity focuses on the teachings and nature of Christ. more. In the late Middle Ages, mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more was evident when the host (communionis derived from the Latin term communio, which basically means to have in common. Words such as “partaking,” “sharing,” or “fellowship” are often translations of this root term. Partaking of the Eucharist is often referred to as the sacrament of... more bread) became an item of adoration. Later, Protestants rejected the idea that the priests held magical power to turn the wine of the Eucharist more into blood and the host into human flesh. They turned the Latin words of the mass “Hoc est corpus meum” (“This is my body”) into the chant “Hocus pocus,” ridiculing the words of the MassComes from the Latin word “missa” that literally means dismissed and refers to the practice in the 6th century of dismissing those in attendance during the Roman Catholic liturgy who were not going to partake of the Eucharist prior to... more and the Catholic belief in the literal transformation of the bread and wine into the physical body of ChristDerived from a Greek term meaning anointed and is equivalent to the word “messiah” from Hebrew roots. The anointing references the act of installing a new king similar to the modern custom of crowning a king, so the term “Christ”... more.

Earlier in the second century, Christian mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more split in two opposite directions: intellectual and phenomenal. The intellectual extreme consisted of the Gnostic groups which became imbedded in the official Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more congregations and some spinoff religions. As previously discussed, Gnosticismis a broad label covering a wide range of non-orthodox forms of Christianity which proliferated in the early Church that devalued the material world and emphasized the need to acquire special knowledge to escape to a higher spiritual realm. The... more followed the Greek mystery cults format in which special exalting knowledge was acquired by those who became part of an inner circle of electcomes from the Latin word “to choose” and is used to identify those chosen by God. In the Old Testament, the twelve tribes of Israel are the elect people of God; in many Protestant traditions the elect refers to those... more participants. The Gnostics were opposed by the Montanists who pursued a phenomenal approach to mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more through gifts of the spirit, particularly glossolaliaTerm from the Greek phrase meaning “speaking in tongues,” and is used to describe “the phenomenon of believers uttering sounds during ecstatic worship that are similar to a language but are not recognizable as any human language. (See xenolalia.) more (speaking in tongues) and revelationThe divine disclosure to humans of future events, God’s will or his nature. more, with an emphasis on purification through extreme ascetism.

Christian mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more found a whole new direction after ConstantineConstantine I (c. A.D. 272–337) was a Western Roman Emperor who, after a series of civil wars, became emperor of the entire Roman Empire. He strengthened the Empire through reforms and led successful military campaigns on the frontiers. He famously... more adopted Christianity as the official state religion in the early fourth century. Many devout individuals eschewed the comfort and security of the new compromising form of Christianity and sought enlightenment through a life of sacrifice, prayer and solitude in the desert. These desert fathers set the main course for Christian mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more thereafter. This was found in the monasteries that sprang up overnight and became the primary locus of Christian mystical life during the Middle Ages. Monastic mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more typically consisted of austere asceticism, a rigid regimen involving group prayers from early morning to late at night. Time was also devoted to contemplation, personal prayer and recitation of scripture, primarily the Psalms. Strict obedience to one’s superior was the model to follow to submit one’s will to God’s, which was necessary to realize the mystical union with the Divine.

Christian mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more found new intellectual dimensions with the adoption of the creeds related to the TrinityThe Traditional Christian doctrine that God is simultaneously the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one, and addresses the relation between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This issue as at the center... more and the IncarnationA term derived from the Latin word for “flesh”, carnem, and refers to the doctrine developed during the Christological disputes of the 4th-6th centuries regarding the nature of Christ and the relationship between his divinity and humanity. Traditional Christianity adopted... more of ChristDerived from a Greek term meaning anointed and is equivalent to the word “messiah” from Hebrew roots. The anointing references the act of installing a new king similar to the modern custom of crowning a king, so the term “Christ”... more. Some of these ideas dealt with the inner workings of the TrinityThe Traditional Christian doctrine that God is simultaneously the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one, and addresses the relation between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This issue as at the center... more. However, the East felt that the West was trying too hard to explain the incomprehensible. Instead, they developed their own unique mystical traditions focused on emotional experiences with the Holy Spirit rather than on rational ideas.

Now you have before your eyes almost all the proposed forms of happiness of mankind: riches, honors, power, glory, and pleasures.…

Now, without doubt these ways do not lead to happiness. Nor do they lead folks where they promise to lead them. But I will soon show you with what harm these ways are imbued.

If you drive yourself to accumulate money, you must wrench it away from he who has it.
If you will shine with dignities, you must grovel and entreat those who award those honors.
If you covet to be honored above others, you shall debase yourself by humbly begging.
If you desire power, you must be wary of your subjects lest you be overthrown by many perils.

Do you seek glory? You will be so distracted by bitter things that you will forgo safety.
And if you will lead a life of pleasure, every man will despise and forsake you for being a slave to your body.

Now it is clearly shown what little and how brittle are the possessions they covet who put the goods of the body above their own reason…

These things then, (earthly sufficiency, power, and such things) they only mirror true good and give to mortal folk types of goods that are imperfect. But they cannot give this true and perfect good.

Haven’t you understood that everything that exists, continues its existence and its substance as long as it is one? But when it foregoes being one, it necessarily must die and become corrupted? …

He who would seek the deep ground of truth within his mind and would not be deceived by false propositions that steer him away from the truth, let him turn to closely examine within himself the nature and properties of the thing. Let him again examine his thoughts and turn them over by good deliberation before he judges and let him teach his soul that it has, according to natural principles, innately hidden within itself, all the truths which he imagines exist outside himself. Then, all the darkness of his ignorance shall more clearly appear to his inner vision than the sun appears to his outer sight…

All the generations of men that have been on earth are of similar birth. One alone is the Father of things. One alone administers all things. He gave to the sun his beams. He gave to the moon her horns. He gave men to the earth. He gave the stars to the heavens. He encloses with bodies the souls that come from his high throne. Thus, all mortal folk come from noble seed. Why do you sound off or boast about your ancestors? For if you look to your beginning and God, your author and your maker, no man is degenerate or ignoble unless he nourishes his heart with vice and forgets his proper origin…

Since by getting happiness, men are made happy, and happiness is divine, then it is manifest and clear that by obtaining divinity, men become happy, just by the getting of justice, and by getting insight they are made wise, so by the same reasoning, having achieved divinity, they are made gods. Then is every happy man, God. But certainly, there is naturally only one God. However, by the participation of divinity, nothing prevents there from being many gods…

Come together now, you who are caught and bound with wicked chains of delight in the fickle, earthly things inhabiting your minds! Here find rest for your labors; here is the steady haven in peaceful quiet. This alone is the open refuge for you who are encumbered and deceived with worldly affections, come now to this sovereign good that is God, who is refuge for those who will come to him.5

The early Eastern theologian, Pseudo-Dionysius, had a major impact on both Western and Eastern Christian thought. Particularly important were his ideas that the names of God are symbols that identify his various characteristics; and that pointing out what God is not (apophasis) is equally or even more important. He taught that God’s “ultimate radiance” is a “dark cloud” to the human mind because God is incomprehensible. This paradox became an important mystic perspective. JohnJohn (c. A.D. 6–100) was a Jewish fisherman, chosen by Jesus to be one of his 12 Apostles, and appears to have developed an especially close bond with Jesus. John outlived the other Apostles and heavily influenced early Christian thinkers... more Climacus’s (579–649 CE) The Ladder of Divine Ascent laid out twenty-two steps to discipline one’s body and control one’s emotions to reach the final four steps of quiet stillness (hesychia), which became a model that subsequent mystics followed in varying degrees. Another influential Eastern theologian, Gregory Palama (1296–1359), emphasized that truth is revealed through direct personal experience with God and not through rational argument. His approach of controlling one’s breathing to enhance hesychastic prayer was adopted in the East. Chants also became an important aspect of Eastern Orthodox monastic mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more.6

Because of the fall of Rome and its dynamic political environment, life in the West was much more chaotic than in the East. This resulted in greater flexibility and creativeness in their mystic traditions than in the East, which remained stable under the Byzantine Empire until shortly before Columbus discovered America. After the fall of Rome, the West largely lost access to the classic philosophical and theological writings from the East. The Western monastic orders generally adopted Benedict’s rules which were less austere than many of the Eastern monasteries, so there was more variety in mystic thought.

Bernard of Clairvaux’s (1090–1153) teachings about the many layers of God’s love were influential for contemporaries as well as later mystics. A different take on this same theme was the use of erotic language as a metaphor to describe the mystical rapture of one’s union with the Divine, which various mystics, male and female, utilized. The Western mystic traditionThis word comes from a Latin term meaning “to hand down,” that originally referred to the teaching of the apostles as handed down in the churches they founded, which led to these churches gaining authority of other locations due to... more developed three levels for reading scripture: historical, allegorical and moral. All Christian mystics, Eastern and Western, believed that meaning in life was found in the journey toward God. This traditionThis word comes from a Latin term meaning “to hand down,” that originally referred to the teaching of the apostles as handed down in the churches they founded, which led to these churches gaining authority of other locations due to... more developed a deeper aspect in the West during the time of the bubonic plague when monks did not just accept suffering but embraced it as the path to realizing unity with Jesus(c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 30-33) Also known as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and Savior of the World. He is the founding figure of Christianity and accepted by Christians as the Son of God in the flesh. He taught... more.

The West also incorporated a traditionThis word comes from a Latin term meaning “to hand down,” that originally referred to the teaching of the apostles as handed down in the churches they founded, which led to these churches gaining authority of other locations due to... more of respecting female mystics who usually described and interpreted numerous visions they had received. Catherine of Sienna and Teresa of Avila(A.D. 1515–1582) Also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus; Spanish nun and mystical theologian known for her descriptions of the various levels of mystical experience, including the Prayer of Quiet and Spiritual Marriage. more were both made doctors of the Roman Catholic Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more, an honor that the Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more has bestowed on only thirty-five other individuals. Teresa utilized the metaphor of a castle inside of us where ChristDerived from a Greek term meaning anointed and is equivalent to the word “messiah” from Hebrew roots. The anointing references the act of installing a new king similar to the modern custom of crowning a king, so the term “Christ”... more dwells, rather than up in heaven. She referred to the castle’s seven rooms as levels of prayer that move us deeper and deeper into the castle of our being until we reach the innermost room of self where we encounter our Lord.

Julian of Norwick (1342–1423) was an anchorite enclosed in a cell of a cathedral in England who wrote that the truth she learned from a vision of a simple hazelnut was that

[E]everything has being through the love of God. In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is that God made it, the second is that God loves it, the third is that God keeps it. …God is the creator, and the protector, and the lover. For until I am substantially united with Him, I can never have perfect rest or true happiness, until, that is, I am so attached to him that there can be no created thing between my God and me.

As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother. …I understand three ways of contemplating motherhood in God. The first is the foundation of our nature’s creation; the second is His taking of our nature; where the motherhood of graceIs a term used to identify unmerited assistance by God primarily to redeem and transform human beings. In the early and medieval church it also referred to God’s influence throughout existence. Redemptive grace is important to Augustinian theology which has... more begins; the third is the motherhood of work. And in that, by the same graceIs a term used to identify unmerited assistance by God primarily to redeem and transform human beings. In the early and medieval church it also referred to God’s influence throughout existence. Redemptive grace is important to Augustinian theology which has... more, everything is penetrated, in length and in breadth, in height and depth without end; it is all one love.8

There is a power in the soul that touches neither time nor flesh. It flows from the spirit and remains in the spirit and is wholly spiritual. In this power God is always verdant and blossoming in all the joy and honor that He is in Himself. If the spirit were always united with God in this power, the man could never grow old; for that now in which God made the first man, and the now in which the last many will have an end, and the now in which I am talking, they are all the same in God, and there is not more than one now.11

God’s being is my life. If my life is God’s being, then God’s existence must be my existence and God’s is-ness is my is-ness, neither less nor more. So should the just soul be equal with God and close beside God, equal beside Him, not beneath or above. Who are they who are thus equal? Those who are equal to nothing, they alone are equal to God. The Divine Being is equal to nothing and in it there is neither image nor form. To the souls who are equal, the Father gives equality, and he withholds nothing at all from them. …We shall be completely transformed and changed into God.12

As we previously discussed, Augustine(A.D. 354-430) Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, the most influential theologian of the West, known especially for his doctrine of grace, including related doctrines of original sin and predestination. more taught that happiness comes from seeing and comprehending God with our mind’s eye, which is comparable to understanding God’s intellectual vision or the Plutonian concept of the world of forms that is in God’s mind. AristotleAristotle (384–322 B.C.) was a greek philosopher, founder of the sciences of logic, physics, and biology, whose writings were a major conceptual resource for medieval scholastic theologians, especially Aquinas. He studied under Plato, and in turn educated Alexander the Great.... more tweaked this idea a bit so it reflected an understanding of these eternal forms as part of nature itself, and to the extent that we grasp this knowledge we become unified with it. AristotleAristotle (384–322 B.C.) was a greek philosopher, founder of the sciences of logic, physics, and biology, whose writings were a major conceptual resource for medieval scholastic theologians, especially Aquinas. He studied under Plato, and in turn educated Alexander the Great.... more emphasized an empirical approach of grasping these forms in our mind by observing them in the world around us. Thomas Aquinas(c. A.D. 1225-1274) Dominican friar, teacher at the University of Paris, central figure of medieval scholasticism, and the most authoritative theologian of the Roman Catholic tradition; known for his use of Aristotelian philosophy and his conception of supernatural grace. more followed AristotleAristotle (384–322 B.C.) was a greek philosopher, founder of the sciences of logic, physics, and biology, whose writings were a major conceptual resource for medieval scholastic theologians, especially Aquinas. He studied under Plato, and in turn educated Alexander the Great.... more and taught that we need to begin with sensory experiences in order to obtain knowledge, but he hesitated to adopt Aristotle’s concept of realizing a metaphysical union with the eternal forms that one comprehends because that would mean we would literally become united with God.

Professor Phillip Cary observed,

What Eckart seems to me to be doing is digging beneath the foundation of Augustine’s church and finding the ruins of a Plutonic temple…and the notion of an Aristotelian identity between the mind and the thing that is contemplated which makes us ultimately identical with God.14

It also relates to Plotinus’s concept of ultimate fulfillment by going beyond Plato’s world of forms in the mind of God to become united with “the One” that Christians related to God the Father. Whether it is digging deeper to find the foundation of being or rising above the temporal realm, it all involves increasing simplification to discover a more pure form of the essencethe English word generally used for the Greek term ousia, that is also translated as “being” or “substance” and refers to that which makes something what it is such as human nature is the essence of a human being. This... more of divinity. This is an underlying principle of asceticism practiced in the various monastic orders and a key to Christian mysticismIs a form of religious experience that is found in one form or another in nearly all religious traditions. In early Christianity, Pseudo Dionysius referred to it as “mystical theology” because it referred to aspects of an incomprehensible God that... more. EckhartMeister Eckhart (c. A.D. 1260-1327) Dominican priest and mystical theologian, the most prominent figure in German mysticism, whose teachings were under investigation for heresy at the time of his death. more referred to this pure essencethe English word generally used for the Greek term ousia, that is also translated as “being” or “substance” and refers to that which makes something what it is such as human nature is the essence of a human being. This... more as a virgin essence, pure and undefiled. Once our soul is pure it becomes a virgin mother bearing fruit from God’s loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more and gives birth to the Son of God in the innermost part of our soul so we can participate in the life of the TrinityThe Traditional Christian doctrine that God is simultaneously the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons in one, and addresses the relation between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This issue as at the center... more where there is no past, present or future. We then are able to internalize the truth that we have always been part of the Divine and enjoy complete fulfillment.16

A man may, by graceIs a term used to identify unmerited assistance by God primarily to redeem and transform human beings. In the early and medieval church it also referred to God’s influence throughout existence. Redemptive grace is important to Augustinian theology which has... more, have the fulness of knowledge of all other creatures and their works, yes, and of the works of God’s own self, and he is well able to reflect on them. But no man can think of God himself. He can be taken and held by loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more, but not by thought…You are to step above [the cloud of unknowing] stalwartly but lovingly, and with a devout, pleasing, impulsive love strive to pierce that darkness above you. You are to smite upon that thick cloud of unknowing with a sharp dart of longing loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more.17

Two centuries later, John of the Cross(A.D. 1542–1591) Spanish monk, mystical theologian, Roman Catholic saint, and friend of Theresa of Avila; known for his concept of the dark night of the soul. more (Teresa of Avila’s confessoris the priest who listens to the penitent’s confessions during the sacrament of Penance. more) picked up on this cloud of unknowing and called it a “dark nightis a term that John of the Cross used to describe the stages of a soul’s ascent to God where everything that is not of God is emptied like an eye emptied of light. more” when purgative contemplation leads the soul through suffering to negate itself and all things to approach God in the darkness where lovers embrace. It is not through knowledge which is “nothing, nothing, nothing,” but it is through the embrace of the heart, with which one gives their whole soul completely to God in loveIn a theological discussion “love” refers to one’s love for God and neighbor and is often referred to as “charity” or the pure love of God. It does not mean giving alms to the poor. more, that we find Him.18

Ignatius of Loyola(Died A.D. 31 Jul 1556) Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish military officer who experienced a religious conversion while recovering from injuries. He founded the Jesuit religious order (Society of Jesus) that was dedicated to discipline and education. Jesuits stressed... more (1491–1556) founded the Society of Jesus(c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 30-33) Also known as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and Savior of the World. He is the founding figure of Christianity and accepted by Christians as the Son of God in the flesh. He taught... more (Jesuits) which became the most effective Counter-Reformation(A.D. 1563) The efforts of the Catholic Church to counter-act, denounce and undo the changes brought about by the Protestant Reformation. more force of the Catholic Churcha term translated from the Greek word “Ecclesia” which means an assembly called together and is sometime translated as a congregation. A church is an organized group of believers who adhere to a set of core beliefs. The Church in... more combating the ProtestantContrary to popular belief, the term does not refer to protest against the Roman Catholic Church. The term original refers to a formal protest lodged by Lutheran princes against an unfavorable decision made by the imperial Diet of Speyer in... more movement. Ingnatius was prompted by a powerful mystic experience to assemble similar-thinking associates to develop his transformative work Spiritual Exercises. He built a structured approach on the mystic foundation of meditation on the life and passionIn ancient Greek and Roman philosophy this term refers to both feelings and suffering because our superior rational mind suffers from being moved by emotion. Accordingly, passions were viewed as a vice and weakness. Accordingly, ancient moralist viewed passion as... more of ChristDerived from a Greek term meaning anointed and is equivalent to the word “messiah” from Hebrew roots. The anointing references the act of installing a new king similar to the modern custom of crowning a king, so the term “Christ”... more. Small prayer groups were led by a director who had been trained in his systematic approach which was grounded in the basic truths of faithIn word for belief and faith is the same in Latin and most European languages, but in English faith often denotes an active believe, one that inspires action based on a belief. For Luther, faith and belief generally meant the... more and the mysteries of Jesus’s life. His exercises emphasized individual conversionThis term is derived from the Latin word for “turning,” and is a theological term that refers to one turning his will from evil to good and is generally used to denote one becoming a Christian and/or joining a particular... more through spiritual experience that could be realized through group prayers with other seekers of truth.19

go to previous article:

Providence and Sacramentality

go to next article:

The Renaissance and Christian Humanism