Andrew Harvey - Teachings of the Christian Mystics

The selections in this excellent anthology include writings from the New Testament, the Gospel of James, Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Merton, Teilhard de Chardin, and many others.... Teachings of the Christian Mystics affirms the sacred feminine and proclaims gratitude, imagination, humility, compassion, and justice as core spiritual practices.

Frederic A. Brussat, Values & Visions

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Christian mystics are the treasure of Western civilizationyet they remain little known among those of us who are potentially their spiritual heirs. Andrew Harveys anthology confronts us with the mystics in their own words, to show us how well they serve, even now, as guides for the spiritual lifeand to challenge our preconceived ideas about the path of Christianity. He has chosen selections that represent all eras of the Christian tradition, as well as the amazing range of people who have embodied it, people like Francis of Assisi, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, Bede Griffiths, and many others.

ANDREW HARVEY is the author of Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ and more than thirty other books. He has also published several collections of Rumi, including The Way of Passion.

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TEACHINGS OF THE
CHRISTIAN MYSTICS

EDITED BY

ANDREW HARVEY

SHAMBHALA

BOSTON & LONDON

2013

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

1998 by Andrew Harvey

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Teachings of the Christian mystics/edited by Andrew Harvey.

p. cm.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2682-3

ISBN 978-1-57062-343-1 (pbk.)

1. Mysticism. I. Harvey, Andrew, 1952

BV5082.2.T43 1998

248.22dc21

97-22297

CIP

FOR CAROLINE BOUTERAON WITH ALL MY LOVE & GRATITUDE

JESUS SAID, WHOEVER DRINKS FROM MY MOUTH WILL BECOME LIKE ME; I MYSELF SHALL BECOME THAT PERSON, AND THE HIDDEN THINGS WILL BE REVEALED TO HIM.

LOGION 108

GOSPEL OF THOMAS

CONTENTS

Matthew 13:3133, 4446

Matthew 5:116

Matthew 5:3848

Matthew 6:1922, 2433

Matthew 7:712

Matthew 25:3145

Mark 8:3436

Mark 10:1315

Mark 12:2834

John 3:58

John 14:1521, 2527

John 15:111

John 17:16, 2026

Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of Thomas

Romans 8:1623

Romans 12:19

II Corinthians 12:210

II Corinthians 1:1829, 3:1823

Philippians 3:715

I Corinthians 13:113

Revelation 21:16

Saint Macarius of Egypt

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Gregory of Nyssa

Gregory of Nyssa

Gregory of Nyssa

Dionysius the Areopagite

Saint Augustine

Romanus the Melodist

Romanus the Melodist

Saint Symeon the New Theologian

Saint Symeon the New Theologian

Saint Symeon the New Theologian

Saint Symeon the New Theologian

Saint Isaac the Syrian

Saint Isaac the Syrian

Nicephorus the Solitary

Hesychius of Jerusalem

Hildegard of Bingen

Hildegard of Bingen

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Richard of Saint Victor

Saint Francis of Assisi

Saint Francis of Assisi

Jacopone da Todi

Mechthild of Magdeburg

Hadewijch of Antwerp

Hadewijch of Antwerp

Angela of Foligno

Angela of Foligno

Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart

Dante Alighieri

Johann Tauler

Heinrich Suso

Heinrich Suso

Marguerite of Oingt

Julian of Norwich

Julian of Norwich

John Ruusbroec

John Ruusbroec

John Ruusbroec

Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Teresa of vila

Saint Teresa of vila

Saint John of the Cross

Saint John of the Cross

George Herbert

Thomas Traherne

Henry Vaughan

Angelus Silesius

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort

Jean Pierre de Caussade

Jean Pierre de Caussade

William Blake

William Blake

William Blake

N. A. Motovilov

From The Way of a Pilgrim

Vladimir Soloviev

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Saint Thrse of Lisieux

Edward Carpenter

Teilhard de Chardin

Thomas Merton

Leonardo Boff

Matthew Fox

Mother Teresa

Bede Griffiths

Saint Teresa of vila

T o my husband, Eryk, for the example of his devotion to the Virgin, and his love.

To Maria Todisco, whose tireless help, encouragement, and profound spiritual intelligence helped birth this work.

To my dear friend and true Christian, Mollie Corcoran.

To Leila and Henry Luce, for their warmth and kindness.

To Anne Pennington, who prayed and believed.

To Peter Levi, who inspired.

To Mary Ford-Grabowski, for the truth of her heart.

To my beloved friend-in-God, Bede Griffiths, who showed me the way home.

T here is nothing more important, I believe, for the future of the mystical renaissance that is struggling to be born everywhere in the Westand thus for the future of the planetthan an authentic and unsparing recovery of the full range, power, and glory of the Christian mystical tradition. Without such a recovery, the spiritual life of the West will continue to be a superficial, narcissistic, and sometimes lethal mixture of a watered-down or fanatical pseudo-Christianity, hardly understood eastern metaphysics, and regressive occultismand the great radical potential of such a renaissance will go unlived and unenacted, with disastrous consequences for every human being and for all of nature.

What is needed is the flaming-out, on a global scale, of an unstoppable force of Divine-human love wise enough to stay in permanent humble contact with the Divine and brave enough to call for, risk, and implement change at every level and in every arena before time runs out and we destroy ourselves. Such a love has to spring from an awakened mystical consciousness, and must be rooted in habits of fervent meditation, adoration of the Divine, and prayer; for only then will it be illuminated enough to act at all times with healing courage, and strong enough to withstand the ordeals and torments that are inevitable. Teilhard de Chardin wrote, Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity,... we shall harness the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire. Unless humankind discovers this fire, and uses it to burn away everything that blocks the changes that must come in order to transform the planet into the mirror of divine beauty in is meant to be, it will die out and take most of nature with it.