Posted on by Kurt Bodling

mysticism’s purpose

“The purpose of contemplative and mystical spirituality is to foster greater intimacy with and devotion to God, which in itself is a universal goal of all religious and spiritual traditions that are God-centered (Buddhism does not require belief in God, so in a sense it’s a philosophy). Mystical, contemplative spirituality invites us deep into the wisdom of a path without insisting that it is the only path. This is true for contemplative Christians as well as for contemplatives of other traditions.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, pp. 297-298

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freedom and levity

"There is a refreshing, ludic quality to the lives of the early desert Christians. They anticipated the dictum of Thomas Aquinas that ‘unmitigated seriousness betokens a lack of virtue.’ …

“Only those having sustained the terrors of the cross can understand the raucous laughter of resurrection. Only the ones who have died completely to the expectations of the world are free to be truly eccentric, off-center by every standard of the majority.”

Lane, Belden C. The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 170-171

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the Savior’s silence

"The whole life of Jesus is wrapped in silence and mystery. If man wants to imitate Christ, it is enough for him to observe his silence.

“The silence of the crib, the silence of Nazareth, the silence of the cross, and the silence of the sealed tomb are one. The silences of Jesus are silences of poverty, humility, self-sacrifice, and abasement; it is the bottomless abyss of his kenosis, his self-emptying (Phil 2:7).” Thought 196.

Sarah, Robert Cardinal with Nicolas Diat. The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. Translated by Michael J. Miller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017, p. 100

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true spirituality

“True spirituality is not a search for perfection or control or the door to the next world; it is a search for divine union now. The great discovery is always that what we are searching for has already been given! I did not find it; it found me.”

Rohr, Richard. The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See. New York: Crossroad Publishing, 2009, p. 16

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dragons and nuns

“It was like listening to two ancient dragons talking to each other with the help of an even older book of etiquette written by nuns.”

Pratchett, Terry. Unseen Academicals : a Novel of Discworld. NY: Harper, 2009, p. 208

Comment: Passive aggressive arguments are like this: absurd when you think about them. It might look and sound like polite discussion, but everyone knows it is petty and rank.

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preparing for contemplation

"Since contemplation is the union of our mind and will with God in an act of pure love that brings us into obscure contact with Him as He really is, the way to contemplation is to develop and perfect our mind and will and our whole soul. Infused contemplation begins when the direct intervention of God raises this whole process of development above the level of our nature: and then He perfects our faculties by seeming to defeat all their activity in the suffering and darkness of His infused light and love.

“But before this begins, we ordinarily have to labor to prepare ourselves in our own way and with the help of His grace, by deepening our knowledge and love of God in meditation and active forms of prayer, as well as by setting our wills free from attachment to created things.”

Merton, Thomas. New Seeds of Contemplation. Introduction by Sue Monk Kidd. New York: New Directions Books, 2007, ©1961, p. 214

Comment: I am pretty sure I know some folks who would read this and shout in their most accusatory voice, “Semi-Pelagianism! Beware!!” But I believe that Merton is not here talking about salvation and conversion. He is, rather, describing the later growth in the faith that should come to Christians as they mature. At that point the human will and effort are certainly involved.

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natural knowledge of God

“In fact, God seems silent, but he reveals himself and speaks to us through the marvels of creation. It is enough to pay attention like a child to the splendors of nature. For nature speaks to us about God.”

Sarah, Robert Cardinal with Nicolas Diat. The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise. Translated by Michael J. Miller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2017, p. 197

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people’s attitude

“Except for the very few who are faithful and gratefully accept God’s word the majority are ungrateful, stubborn, brash, and live as if God had given us his word because we deserved it.”

Luther, Martin. “Appeal for Prayer Against the Turks” (1541) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 220

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everything is available

from the epilogue of this book: "To desire the Parousia, all we have to do is to let the very heart of the earth, as we christianize it, beat within us.

"Why then, O people of little faith, do you fear or repudiate the progress of the world? Why foolishly multiply your warnings and your prohibitions? ‘Don’t venture . . . Don’t try . . . everything is known: the earth is empty and old; there is nothing more to be discovered.’

“We must try everything for Christ! We must hope everything for Christ! ‘Nihil intentatum!’ (‘Leave nothing unattempted!’) That, on the contrary, is the true christian attitude.”

Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. The Divine Milieu. Translated by Siôn Cowell. Portland, OR: Sussex Academic Press, 2012, p. 117

Comment: Looking at this now, quite some time after I first read it, I see again how thick Teilhard’s writing can be. Or can appear. I’ve found in the little of his work that I have read that I need to take it in small mouthfuls and sit with it quietly before moving on. Also, yes, grabbing a few sentences from the end of his book and sharing them without all the underlying and preparatory thought is not the best introduction.