Tag Archives: mystics
Doubt: A Necessary Tool for Growth
Unknowing Doubt: A Necessary Tool for Growth Monday, February 1, 2021 My good friend and colleague Brian McLaren’s recently published book, Faith After Doubt, shows how doubt and periods of unknowing are necessary for spiritual growth. Brian proposes a four-stage growth process of Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony. He writes: Doubt, it turns out, is… Continue Reading Doubt: A Necessary Tool for Growth
What the Mystics Know
Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace, Part One What the Mystics Know Friday, October 23, 2020 Today I pause Cynthia Bourgeault’s reflections and offer a few words about the essential role of contemplation in the lives of honest spiritual seekers like Thomas Keating and Cynthia herself. To many people, contemplation is an old-fashioned word, but it… Continue Reading What the Mystics Know
Mystics and the Margins: Weekly Summary
Mystics and the Margins Saturday, October 3, 2020 Summary: Sunday, September 27—Friday, October 2, 2020 Many saints, mystics, and everyday people take their place in the grand scheme of God by living on the edge of the inside. (Sunday) We’ve tended to soften Jesus’ conflict with the system, or the established powers, but Jesus’ ministry… Continue Reading Mystics and the Margins: Weekly Summary
The Light Within
Mystics and the Margins The Light Within Friday, October 2, 2020 First gathering in 17th-century England as the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers have always existed on the margins of Christianity, but that doesn’t mean their impact has been small. In many ways, they were ahead of their time (and even our times) when… Continue Reading The Light Within
Faithful and Free Women
Mystics and the Margins Faithful and Free Women Thursday, October 1, 2020 We have a lot to learn from communities like the beguines, or later, the Quakers and Mennonites. These movements are made up of little groups, often on the margins of society, sharing the Word of God and their lives together. We might recognize… Continue Reading Faithful and Free Women
The Fruitful Margins of the Empire
Mystics and the Margins The Fruitful Margins of the Empire Wednesday, September 30, 2020 On the margins of the Roman Empire, Ireland and Scotland helped hand down the Christian contemplative lineage. The Romans had conquered much of Europe by the time of Jesus’ birth; though they ruled Britain, the Romans never occupied Ireland or parts… Continue Reading The Fruitful Margins of the Empire
Freedom in the Desert
Mystics and the Margins Freedom in the Desert Tuesday, September 29, 2020 When Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire, something remarkable and strange took place. A whole set of people began to flock to the margins of the Empire to pursue God. They went to the deserts of Palestine, Cappadocia, Syria, and… Continue Reading Freedom in the Desert
A Church on the Margins
Mystics and the Margins A Church on the Margins Monday, September 28, 2020 We’ve tended to soften Jesus’ conflict with the system, or the established powers, but Jesus’ ministry took place on the margins! In the year 313 A.D., with the Edict of Milan, the Church dramatically changed sides and Christians officially became the Church… Continue Reading A Church on the Margins
Margins Create Liminal Space
Mystics and the Margins Margins Create Liminal Space Sunday, September 27, 2020 When we are content and satisfied on the inside of any group, we seem to suffer from a structural indifference. We do not realize that it is largely a belonging system that we have created for ourselves. It is not until we are excluded… Continue Reading Margins Create Liminal Space
The Rhineland Mystics: Weekly Summary
The Rhineland Mystics Saturday, August 8, 2020 Summary: Sunday, August 2—Friday, August 7, 2020 Hildegard of Bingen was far ahead of her place and time, a Renaissance woman before the Renaissance, who led a monastery north of the Alps. She combined art, music, poetry, ecology, medicine, community, healing, and early feminism. (Sunday) In Hildegard’s holistic… Continue Reading The Rhineland Mystics: Weekly Summary