Over the past year I have become interested in the topic of “Christian leadership.” People who are in a leadership position in the Christian community — whether clergy, consecrated religious,…
Tag: Mysticism
Three Mystics You May Have Missed
Walk into a Catholic bookstore — or a general bookstore large enough to have a “Christian mysticism” section — and you will see books by or about Thomas Merton, Julian of Norwich,…
Seven Ways the Mystics Inspire Us Today
One of my favorite quotations comes from Karl Rahner: “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist.” It’s a prophetic statement, from a man who died…
How Mysticism is Unique — and Universal
How, exactly, does Christian mysticism relate to all the other “mysticisms” of the world (Kabbalah, Sufism, Taoism, Vedanta, Zen, etc.)? A reader of this blog writes: I have been reading…
What to Say to the Nay-Sayers: Talking About Contemplation With Its Critics
If you are active in a church or other faith community, and you are drawn to (or practicing) silent prayer, if you talk about it with others you will likely,…
Principles for Contemplative Spirituality (Part One)
A couple of years ago Rob Bell wrote a book with the title What We Talk About When We Talk About God. I haven’t read the book, but I love…
Seven Hopes for the Christian (and Church) of the Future
In his 1981 book Concern for the Church, Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner made his famous prediction, “the Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist…
The Hidden Tradition of Christian Mysticism
Not only can Christianity be a mystical faith, but in fact a mystical element of Christianity has existed since the time of Jesus. But for a variety of historical, social and political reasons, Christian mysticism has always existed on the margins of the church.
Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism
Ultimately, mysticism is not found in a book, but in the lived process of relating to the Divine. It’s ironic that this message needs to be passed down in books, and yet, Underhill’s wonderful study of the subject does just that.