Content

This unit explores the history of contemplative practices in Western Christian spirituality. The unit begins with an investigation of key biblical passages and then moves to the early Church Fathers including Origen, Augustine of Hippo and Pseudo‐Dionysius. The unit analyses key texts of monastic traditions, including St Benedict, early Carthusian writings, St Bernard of Clairvaux, Richard of St Victor, and St. Francis. The unit then moves to major male and female spiritual authors of the High and Late Middle Ages who wrote in the vernacular, including John of Ruusbroec, Eckhart, Hadewijch, and the Modern Devotion. Important texts from the Early Modern and Modern Period will also be studied, including the Carmelite spirituality of St John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, St Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. The unit concludes with a consideration contemporary contemplative practices and a critical reflection on the relevance of the contemplative tradition.

Unit code: CH9199J

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Online

Proposing College: Jesuit College of Spirituality

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate a detailed knowledge of the history, content and context of selected mystical texts

2.

Analyse, critically interpret, research and develop a sustained argument about the history of Christian contemplation

3.

Critically reflect on the history of contemplative practices in dialogue with contemporary theology and spirituality

4.

Synthesise the knowledge of spiritual authors from the past with one’s personal experiences, values and beliefs and if applicable, one’s ministry as a spiritual director.

Unit sequence

Prohibited combinations DS9191J/ DS9199J CH9191J/ CH9199J

old code: DS9125J

Pedagogy

Lectures, seminars, tutorials, facilitated interaction in small groups.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Boeve, Lieven, Yves de Maesseneer and Stijn van den Bossche.eds) Religious Experience and Contemporary Theological Epistemology. Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium 188. Leuven: Leuven University Press and Peeters, 2005.
  • Dupré, Louis, and Don E. Saliers,eds. Christian Spirituality: Post‐Reformation and Modern. Vol. 18, World Spirituality. An Encyclopedic History of the Religious Quest. New York: SCM, 1989.
  • Faesen, Rob. "What is a Mystical Experience? History and Interpretation." *Louvain Studies 23 *(1999): 221‐245.
  • McGrath, Alister E. Christian Spirituality: An Introduction. Blackwell: Oxford, 1999.
  • McGinn, Bernard, John Meyendorff, and Jean Leclerq, eds, Christian Spirituality. Origins to the twelfth century. World Spirituality 16. An Encyclopaedic History of the Religious Quest. New York: Crossroad, 1985.
  • McGinn, Bernard. The Presence of God. A History of Western Christian Mysticism. 5 vols. New York: Crossroad, 1991‐2012.
  • Raitt, Jill, ed. Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation. World Spirituality 17. An Encyclopaedic History of the Religious Quest. New York: Crossroad, 1987.
  • Mommaers, Paul, and Jan van Bragt. Mysticism Buddhist and Christian: Encounters with Jan van Ruusbroec. New York: Crossroad, 1995.
  • Waaijman, Kees. "Spirituality ‐ A Multifaceted Phenomenon. Interdisciplinary Explorations." Studies in Spirituality 17 (2007): 1‐113

Translations:

  • Guigo II. The Ladder of Monks: A Letter on the Contemplative Life and Twelve Meditations. Translated by James Walsh and Edmund Colledge. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981.
  • O’Walshe, Maurice, and Bernard McGinn, The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart. New York: Crossroad, 2010.
  • Jan van Ruusbroec. Boecsken der verclaringhe / Little Book of Enlightenment. Edited by Guido de Baere. Translated by Phayre Crowley and Helen Rolfson. Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 101. Tielt and Turnhout: Lannoo and Brepols, 1989.
  • Van Nieuwenhove, Rik, Rob Faesen and Helen Rolfson, eds. Late Medieval Mysticism of the Low Countries.The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2008.

For translations of other authors, please use the Classics of Western Spirituality Series, unless otherwise advised by the lecturer.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

1000 word reflection

0 15.0
Essay

5000 word essay

0 85.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2016

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 12:07:29 +1100