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living the practices

“Begin by consenting to God’s presence and action in your life, in your heart, in your mind and body. How do we express this consent in real, concrete ways? Traditionally, the means by which mystics have lived a mystical or contemplative life has been through regular spiritual practices. And while different mystics have focused on or emphasized different practices, all in all there are just a few basic ways of responding to the mystical call.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 336.

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openness

“And it’s been my experience that mystical or contemplative Christians tend toward an openness to the wisdom of other religions; however, this openness remains–at least for Christians–rooted in the central wisdom teachings of Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian mystics. Contemplative Christians explore the wisdom of other faiths not to dilute or weaken the wisdom teachings of Jesus, but to strengthen and deepen our appreciation of those teachings.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 22.

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purpose of contemplative spirituality

“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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the necessary voice

“So even the most prosaic of mystical writers often have something of a poet’s voice within them.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 73.

When describing the indescribable, it’s probably better to come from the direction of poetry than from prose. At least that gives one a better chance of coming close to the point. And in fewer words.

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human care movements

“From ancient times to today, mystics have been on the forefront of movements to care for their fellow human beings, often leading social reform movements or other works of service and care. In her book Mysticism, Evelyn Underhill describes mystics as often embodying practical roles in society, as artists, teachers, social reformers, and even political leaders, providing examples…”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism: an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis : Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 97.

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mysticism and the Holy Trinity

“Christian mysticism, grounded in the trinitarian understanding of God, fosters an openness to receive the gift of divine union that overflows from the loving relationships found within the Trinity. The union of God and God’s beloved creation, as understood in the Christian faith, is actually a communion, in which we are invited into the loving unity with the Spirit, with Christ, and, through them, with the infinite mystery of the infinite Creator–the fullness of the one triune God.”

McColman, Carl. The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism : an Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality. Minneapolis : Broadleaf Books, 2023, p. 141.

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the contemplative life

“Contemplative life, a life characterized by solitude and prayer, which dispose one toward contemplation. Ancient and especially medieval monasticism perceived its way of life as contemplative; nuns and monks were called contemplatives. Medieval interest in the mystical life perceived the contemplative life as mystical in orientation. For some men and usually women the enclosure was seen as a necessary safeguard of the contemplative life. Post-Vatican II developments have shown an interest in a broader conception of the contemplative life for laity and religious yet one that retains the solitude necessary for living in the presence of God.”

McBrien, Richard P., ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995, page 364.

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God is present everywhere

“For Luther God exists literally as a vibrant and vigorous force in every creature, also in inanimate creatures, in fire, in water, in a leaf, in a stone. Luther rejects the childishly anthropomorphizing picture of the Creator, who, after creating the world, now sits enthroned in heaven far away from it; he rejects the God of naive preachers, the God who so tormented Jakob Boehme, for example. Mysticism never expressed the idea of God’s immanence in the world more forcefully than Luther did.”

Heinrich Bornkamm. Luther’s World of Thought. Translated by Martin H. Bertram. St. Louis: Concordia, 1958, page 113.