Recent years have seen a renewal of interest in mysticism of various kinds, including the mystical tradition within Christianity.
It’s easy to think of Christianity as a set of doctrines and beliefs, as a systematic theology of right and wrong ideas, and as a way of knowing about God. But throughout the church’s history, another way has always persisted —sometimes dominant, sometimes neglected or mistrusted, or even actively suppressed. This is the tradition of the mystics, whose pursuit is not solely or primarily to know about God, but rather to know God, in a personal and experiential way.
Our goal will be to become familiar with some of the basic concepts and imagery of mysticism, and to encounter a few examples of mystical writing in hopes of enriching our own spiritual lives and practice, and as a challenge to approach God not merely through knowledge but also through experience. While the course content focuses on mystical theology itself, opportunity will be provided to discuss intersections and applications to Jungian thought.
We will approach this goal with a broad introductory session followed by four sessions looking at examples from individual mystical writers, in this case, all from the Franciscan tradition: Clare of Assisi, Ramon Llull, Bonaventure, and Angela of Foligno.
