Today I led a day of reflection for the Mary Brewster Committee of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Ridgfield, CT. This committee is tasked with creating a retreat each year…
Category: Mysticism
Two New Podcasts, One Existing Podcast, and a Youtube Channel for You to Explore
Dear friends, I’m excited to announce that I have launched two new podcasts. Each one will be oriented toward exploring mystical spirituality — one in a more “learning about” sense,…
Video: Just what IS Mysticism?
What is mysticism? It’s a question I often get asked, so here is a short little video where I try to sort it out a bit.
Is Non-Attachment a Christian Virtue?
Recently I received a note from a long-time reader of this blog who was questioning me on something I have previously written, basically this: Why Experience is Not the Foundation…
Julian of Norwich, Universal Salvation, and “All Shall Be Well”
A long-time reader of this blog emailed me recently with the following question about Julian of Norwich: Lately I’ve been re-reading the Showings of Julian of Norwich and am struck…
Hildegard’s Mystical Vision of the Trinity
Today is the feast day of the medieval mystic, saint, and Doctor of the Church, Hildegard of Bingen. She died on September 17, 1179. I previously wrote a column about…
Seven Secrets of the Christian Mystics — That Everyone Should Know
I had a conversation with several members of my Patreon circle the other day. We talked about the kinds of challenges people face when it comes to learning about contemplation…
Mysticism, Esotericism, Exotericism, Occultism… Sorting Through the Spiritual Wilderness
A reader posted this recently on my Facebook feed: I have a question, have you covered the differences between exoteric vs. esoteric spirituality? thanks. huge and vast topic… My reply:…
Five Key Words for Understanding Christian Mysticism
So often people will say to me, “I just don’t know what Christian mysticism is!” Which is perfectly understandable, since not only is mysticism related to mystery, but also the added…
Do Christian Mystics Believe in Redemption?
An email came to me today, with this question: Dear Carl, I read your Big Book of Christian Mysticism a few years back, and it was very helpful for me in…
A Theology of Love: Why Julian of Norwich Matters
Nota bene: I’ve been asked to write a short reflection on why Julian of Norwich matters to me. Here it is. I first “met” Julian of Norwich through reading Evelyn Underhill’s…
Praying with the Spanish Mystics
This week I facilitated my second Zoom retreat hosted by the monks of Holy Cross Monastery. Our theme was “Praying with the Spanish Mystics” — this was a follow up…