“The pilgrimage idea, the outgoing quest, appears in mystical literature under two rather different aspects. One is the search for ‘the Hidden Treasure which desires to be found.’ Such is the ‘quest of the Grail’ when regarded in its mystic aspect as an allegory of the adventure of the soul. The other is the long, hard journey towards a known and definite goal or state. Such is Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’; which is, in one of its aspects, a faithful and detailed description of the Mystic Way.” (Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1912, p. 154)
be faithful to solitude
“It is not your job, however, to fix anyone else with your solitude. It is only up to you to be faithful to it when you need it, rather than feel there is something wrong with you for it. You are not alone in wanting to be alone sometimes.”
Aron, Elaine. Four Words: Downtime, Solitude, Silence, and Loneliness. Originally published in Comfort Zone Newsletter: November 2012. Read online at https://hsperson.com/four-words-downtime-solitude-silence-and-loneliness/ on 2 March 2024.
A psychologist of highly sensitive persons – she literally wrote the book on them – says to remember to take some time alone (and goes on to quote Merton as “our solitude expert”).
one Catholic view of Martin Luther
“We must see the decisive point here: more than anyone before him in the fifteen hundred years of church history, Luther had found a direct existential access to the apostle Paul’s doctrine of justification of the sinner by faith alone, and not through works. This had been completely distorted by the promotion of indulgences in the Catholic Church, which claimed that the sinner could be saved by performing set penances and even making payment of money. This rediscovery of Paul’s message of justification – among the shifts, obscurities, cover-ups, and overpaintings – is an epoch-making and astounding theological achievement, which the Reformer himself always recognized as the special grace of God. Simply in the light of this central point, a formal rehabilitation of Luther and the repeal of his excommunication by Rome is overdue. It is one of those acts of reparation which should follow the pope’s confession of guilt today.”
Küng, Hans. The Catholic Church: a Short History. New York: The Modern Library, 2003, p. 126
Meister Eckhart’s apophatic way
"The ‘way’ Eckhart proposes, so far as he does so at all, follows the apophatic route of classical Christian contemplation favoured in the Order of Preachers during his formative years and as taught by his close contemporary St Gregory of Palamas in the East and practitioners of the via negativa in the West such as Richard of St Victor. What Eckhart in fact teaches is that the silent repose of contemplation, the polar opposite of ecstatic rapture, is the ‘place of rest’ where one encounters the divine Presence in the ground of the soul.
“The elements of spirituality Eckhart would have learned as a young friar are reflected in this passage from the Summa Theologiae of St Thomas Aquinas, which Eckhart would have known well: ‘Contemplation is the soul’s clear and free dwelling on the object of its gaze; meditation is the survey of the mind while occupied in searching for the truth; and cogitation is the mind’s glance, which is prone to wander.”
Woods, Richard. Meister Eckhart: Master of Mystics. New York: Continuum, 2011, p. 100
on suffering
“Eckhart does not counsel anyone to seek suffering for its own sake, nor even as a special mode of God’s presence. In this he differs considerably from most of his contemporaries, and even some of his own disciples. Eckhart’s way is to seek God in all things, and all things in God, even suffering, not with fatalistic resignation as inescapable, but as a gift of God’s presence and companionship.”
Woods, Richard. Meister Eckhart: Master of Mystics. New York: Continuum, 2011, p. 177
public prayers
“Social and public prayers hold groups and religions together, but they do not necessarily transform people at any deep level. In fact, group certitude and solidarity often becomes a substitute for any real journey of our own. Hear this clearly. I am not saying there is no place for public prayer, but we do need to heed Jesus’ very clear warnings about it.”
Rohr, Richard. The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2009, pp. 72-3
let God be God
“If all things are his, you ought to keep your peace and let God administer all as he wishes. If he takes that which belongs to him, he is not dealing unjustly with you.”
Luther, Martin. “An Exposition of the Lord’s Prayer for Simple Laymen” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 32
Comment: Sometimes our prayers are complaints to God about what we don’t have and what we have lost for one reason or another. Luther tells us to instead let God be God in these matters. God, as creator and ruler of everything there is, has the right to shuffle around resources, taking from one and giving to another. He’s in charge, we aren’t.
the second dark night of the soul
"This second dark night–which can continue for months or years–constitutes an invitation to live by radical trust in the absence of spiritual comforts.
“In the active night of the spirit we clear our minds and spirits of false ideas and limited means of knowing God. John of the Cross insisted that the intellect must be purged of its tendency to fixate on facts about God rather than to know God himself intimately. Furthermore, during this time God breaks the stubborn self-will that blocks the flow of the Spirit.” (p. 89)
“The passive night of the spirit represents the most severe yet significant phase of the soul’s purification. Like the sun being obscured by a dark cloud, so the light of God is extinguished in this phase. The perceived absence of God leaves saints feeling woefully abandoned.” (p. 90)
Demarest, Bruce. Seasons of the Soul: Stages of Spiritual Development. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009.
on early morning devotions
“It is an old and a good practice that the pastor has set apart especially the first hour of the day for uninterrupted communion with God. The mind is then clearer and better fitted to true devotion. There is less danger of being interrupted.”
Gerberding, G. H. (George Henry), The Lutheran Pastor. 7th edition. Minneapolis : Augsburg, 1915, p. 197
the start of contemplation
“When the work of thought leads to an intuition of love and religious awe, then we have ‘active contemplation’.”
Merton, Thomas. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. Edited and with an Introduction by William H. Shannon. NY: HarperOne, 2003. (NOTE: originally written in 1959), p. 60
Pathology: the Study of a Path 