Dearest dancing monks, artists, and pilgrims,
Tomorrow I start teaching a 4-week e-course on practicing with medieval women mystics for the lovely team at Spirituality & Practice. Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Mechtild of Magdeburg, and Hildegard of Bingen will be our focus and each week brings a set of practices to help encounter their wisdom and deepen into our relationship with the holy.
The period of time in Europe, especially between c. 1000 and c. 1600, saw a flourishing of mystical experiences in both men and women. We have the stories and texts composed by many of these women left to us as a window into their experience of the divine and as wisdom passed down to us. I have been in love with many of these women, and studied them, listening for their whispers across the centuries, for over 20 years.
The longing of the mystic is for an encounter with the Beloved, the divine presence, the sacred ground of love. This is an ongoing desire and project because the Mystery the mystic seeks is inexhaustible. There will always be dimensions of God that remain mysterious to us even in the midst of revelation. Nevertheless, the longing is for experience, encounter, and intimacy.
The modern mystic Thomas Merton described it this way in his book Contemplative Prayer:
“In the ‘prayer of the heart’ we seek first of all the deepest ground of our identity in God. We do not reason about dogmas of faith or ‘the mysteries.’ We seek rather to gain a direct existential grasp, a personal experience of the deepest truths of life and faith, finding ourselves in God’s truth.”
This desire usually begins with a sense of awakening to something bigger at the heart of our lives and the world. This can come gradually or abruptly. Many of these women mystics describe a moment in their life when their old life came into conflict with what they were sensing about the divine mystery. They gave away any wealth they had to the poor as they heard a distinct invitation from the Beloved to give themselves over more fully to this way of being.
Committing to live on the thresholds of life, always reaching across for an encounter with the divine is the life work of these medieval women mystics and they call us to this way of being and praying too. It is their healing grace and their gift to offer back to us. Ultimately, they all describe the ground of our being as Love and call us to practice love in a hurting and often cruel world. I have found these women mystics to be wise and sturdy companions in times that feel so disorienting and disheartening. They keep calling me back to love again and again.
Join me for Four Gates of Mystical Wisdom: Teresa, Julian, Mechtild, Hildegard hosted by Spirituality & Practice through the month of November.
Our featured book this month for the Lift Every Voice prayer cycle is Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us, and Hold Us by Rev. William H. Lamar IV. It is a really beautiful and powerful book and Claudia Love Mair and I had a wonderful conversation with Bill which you can watch or listen to here.
In addition, the companion self-study retreat for my book The Love of Thousands: How Angels, Saints, and Ancestors Walk With Us Toward Holiness is on sale this month for 20% off with coupon code LOTH20. It has recordings of weekly webinars with Christine along with meditations and guest teacher conversations each week and dance prayers from Betsey Beckman.
Cultivating Seeds of Liberation Prayer Cycle
This week we release the video podcasts of morning and evening prayer for Day 5: Peace from our Cultivating Seeds of Liberation Prayer Cycle. Here is one of the prayers of concern written by Jo-ed Tome.
O God, you never tire of offering me your loving arms as a place of refuge, comfort, and peace. Your embrace is a safe dwelling place where my weary heart finds rest and my troubled mind is calmed. Show me the way back to your arms, my home, when the waves crush my spirit and the current drowns my voice. Let me hear your gentle voice that seeps through my bones, keeping me safe amid the doubts and fears. Teach me to trust in your presence and lean on your grace.
Pray with the video podcasts here.
And finally, Simon and I will be leading our monthly prayer service tomorrow honoring the Feast of All Souls with guest musician Deirdre Ní Chinnéide. We will be entering into a time of remembrance together. Whatever your faith background, you are most welcome.
With great and growing love,
Christine
Christine Valters Paintner, OblSB, PhD, REACE
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