German Mystics of the Middle Ages
from various sources
What is Mysticism?
Mysticism is about Oneness (1) with God or
Divinization. Mystics are the Great Giants of the Spiritual Life who have a Profound Desire of
Unity (1) with God. The Mystical Soul
surrenders its Will to God's Will, Transcending our
Sensate World. They Advance-into Saint John of the Cross' Darkness, where
they Experience God, not by Words or Idea, but in
Pure Love.
What kind of Person seeks after God?
What is the Personality of the one who spends a Good Part of their Life Pursuing an Experience-of the
Transcendent?
"The Mystics, to give them their Short Familiar Name, are Men and Women who insist that they Know for
Certain the Presence and Activity of that which they call the Love of God".
Although God calls us all to Mystical Union, most of us
will never Achieve it on this Side of the Grave. Still, the Paschal
Mystery is what Christian Spirituality is all about. The Paschal
Mystery, is the Death, Resurrection and
Ascension of Our Lord into
Glory. The Paschal Mystery is the Central Mystery of
the Christian Faith, Celebrated at the Easter Triduum with a
Sublime and Unique Solemnity. We
Die to-self and Come-to New Life in Christ, not Once
(1), but Continually. The End of that Process is our
Mystical Union with God.
Great German Mystics of the Middle Ages
To most English-speaking Readers, the "Imitation of Christ" is the Representative
of Mediaeval German Mysticism. In Reality, however, this Beautiful Little Treatise belongs-to a Period when that Movement had nearly
Spent-itself. Thomas à Kempis was only a Semi-mystic. He tones-down the most Characteristic Doctrines of the Great Dominican Mystic,
Meister Eckhart, who is the Great Original Thinker of the German Mystical School. To find German Mysticism at its Strongest, and to
Understand its Growth, we must Retrace our Steps as far as the Great Awakening of the Thirteenth Century --
the Age-of Chivalry in Religion -- the Age-of Saint Louis, of Saints Francis and Dominic, of Saint Bonaventura and lastly, Saint Thomas
Aquinas. It was a Vast Revival, bearing Fruit in a New Ardor of Pity and Charity, as well as in a Healthy Freedom of Thought.
Perhaps a Word of Warning may, without Impertinence, be inserted here. Readers of Mystical Works are
sometimes Exposed-to the same Danger that Unprofessional Students of Medical Treatises
experience; they feel that they themselves have all the Symptoms which they find in the Books they read. We know how
Illusory that feeling can be, and how much Imaginary Misery
is thereby Generated. Now it is just as Easy, and just as Dangerous, to become a
Mystique Imaginaire as a Malade Imaginaire. Every Spiritual
Director knows the Type.
If we find ourselves Carried-away by such Flights of Mystique Imaginaire, it does
not follow that we are Mystics or Possessed-of any special Mystical Aptitude, or even Spiritually
Advanced in any Notable Degree. It only shows, or at least it need only show, that we are Susceptible-to Spirituals conveyed in Sublime
and Telling Language.
Father Joseph Bolland, S.J.
"The Ladder of Divine Ascent" - Icon of the Eastern Church
[The Church Militant, Church Triumphant and the Angels, assist Souls against
Satan in their Divine Ascent to Jesus
, Head of the Mystical Body. Mystics, as 'Guides-to-Holiness', assist in the Divine
Ascent of the Souls of the Church Militant.]
It is, after all, as 'Guides-to-Holiness' that these Mystics are Chiefly Important
to us. This Aspect of their Life's Work can never be Out-of-Date, for the Deeper Currents of Human Nature change but little; the
Language of the Heart is Readily Understood everywhere, and at all Times.
Therefore these Writings are as Pertinent and Meaningful today, as they were in the 13th and
14th Century.
Sermons and Treatises
Meister Johannes Eckart (1260 - 1327)
The Attractive Power of God
The Nearness of the Kingdom
True Hearing
The Angel's Greeting
The Self-Communication of God
Sanctification
Outward and Inward Morality
Blessed John Ruysbroeck (1293 - 1381)
The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage
(Still in Publication)
Blessed Henry Suso (1295 - 1366)
The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom
(Still in Publication)
Friar Johannes Tauler (1300 - 1361)
Sermon I - How Men may Learn to Know their Infirmities
Sermon II - Grains of Wheat
Brother Thomas à Kempis (1380 - 1471)
The Imitation of Christ
(Still in Publication)
Anonymous
Theologia Germanica
(Less than easy reading! For the more Advanced Student of Mysticism.)
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