The Knowledge of God through the Spiritual Experience of the Mystics

The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism

Edited and with an Introduction by Bernard McGinn

Christian Mysticism defined
Author John A. Hardon, S.J., in his book, Pocket Catholic Dictionary, defines Christian mysticism as:

"The supernatural state of soul in which God is known in a way that no human effort or exertion could ever succeed in producing. There is an immediate, personal experience of God that is truly extraordinary, not only in intensity and degree, but in kind. It is always the result of a special, totally unmerited grace of God. Christian mysticism differs essentially from the non-Christian mysticism of the Oriental world. It always recognizes that the reality to which it penetrates simply transcends the soul and the cosmos; there is no confusion between I and Thou, but always a profound humility before the infinite Majesty of God. And in Christian mysticism all union between the soul and God is a moral union of love, in doing His will even at great sacrifice to self; there is no hint of losing one's being in God or absorption of one's personality into the divine.

Excellent reference for Christian mysticism
A good book to learn more in detail about Christian mysticism is, "The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism", by editor Bernard McGinn. This book is an accessible anthology of the Western Christian mystical tradition. It is very comprehensive, apt in its selection of texts, and is intelligently organized in one handy and easy to carry volume.

St. Athanasius of Alexandria, whose feast is celebrated on May 2, is featured in Part One of the book, while St. Catherine of Siena, whose feast is celebrated in April 29, is featured in Part Three of the book.

Book is divided into three main parts
In nearly one hundred selections spanning seventeen centuries, the book explores how human life is transformed through the search for direct contact with God. Uniquely organized by subject, this book includes accessible headnotes for each section, biographical sketches of the mystics, and a selected bibliography.

• Part one examines the preparation for encountering God through biblical interpretation and prayer;
• part two focuses on the mystics' actual encounters with God;
• and part three addresses the implications of the mystical life - showing how mystics have been received over time, and how they practice their faith through private contemplation and public ministry or apostolate.

Outline of the book


• Part One: Foundations of Mystical Practice
Mystics featured in Part One: Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Augustine of Hippo, Bernard of Clairvaux, Meister Eckhart, Madame Guyon, Athanasius of Alexandria, Evagrius Ponticus, James of Vitry, Catherine of Genoa, John of the Cross, Ephrem the Syrian, John Cassian, Symeon the New Theologian, Hadewijch of Antwerp, John Tauler, Teresa of Avila, Guigo I, Aelred of Rievaulx, Miguel de Molinos, Richard of St. Victor, Bonaventure, Marguerite Porete, Walter Hilton
• Section 1: Biblical Interpretation
• Section 2: Asceticism and Purgation
• Section 3: Prayer, Liturgy, and Sacraments
• Section 4: Inner and Outer Practices
• Section 5: Mystical Itineraries
• Part Two: Aspects of Mystical Consciousness
Mystics featured in Part Two: Augustine, William of Saint-Thierry, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Gregory Palamas, John of the Cross, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, Henry Suso, Julian of Norwich, Simone Weil, Nicholas of Cusa, Johann Arndt, Dionysius, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Gregory the Great, Symeon the New Theologian, Hildegard of Bingen, Hugh of St. Victor, Richard Rolle, Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, George Fox, Angela of Foligno, John Tauler, John of the Cross, Therese of Lisieux, Maximus the Confessor, Meister Eckhart, Macarius, John Ruusbroec, Francis de Sales, Marie of the Incarnation
• Section 6: Living the Trinity
• Section 7: Encountering Christ
• Section 8: Love and Knowledge
• Section 9: Positive and Negative Ways to God
• Section 10: Vision, Contemplation, and Rapture
• Section 11: Distress and Dereliction
• Section 12: Deification and Birthing
• Section 13: Union with God
• Part Three: Implications of the Mystical Life
Mystics featured in Part Three: Francois Fenelon, Gregory the Great, Bernard of Clairvaux, Meister Eckhart, Catherine of Siena, Thomas Merton
• Section 14: Mysticism and Heresy
• Section 15: Contemplation and Action

St. Catherine of Siena, Patroness of Europe

On the life, writings and spirituality of St. Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor

St. Catherine of Siena, 1347-1380 A.D.: together with St. Teresa of Avila, was declared a doctor of the Church in 1970 A.D.; she is the patron saint of Italy, of fire prevention, and of nursing.

Biographical sketch

Catherine Benincasa, now known as St. Catherine of Siena, was the youngest of 25 children - born in Siena to Giacomo [a prosperous cloth-dyer] and Lapa Benincasa. At six years of age, because of her spiritual giftedness, St. Catherine began to have mystical experiences - experiences that will mark her mission in the Church throughout her life.

Though urged by her parents to marry, St. Catherine resisted and instead entered the Third Order Dominicans [the Mantellata] in 1365 A.D. She was sixteen years old at the time. As a Third Order Dominican (Dominican tertiary), she began to lead a life of penance and prayer - according to the spirituality of her time (which was rigorous and severe compared to modern practices). At 18 years of age, St. Catherine mystically espoused Christ. Besides her mystical experiences and intense life of prayer, she ministered to the sick in hospitals - caring for those with leprosy and other distressing sickness.

St. Catherine possessed supernatural gifts and had an outspoken support of the Pope. It is her support of the papacy that gained her both supporters and enemies. Her enemies brought St. Catherine before a chapter general of the Dominicans in 1374 A.D. at Florence. But upon investigation, accusations against her were dismissed.

Back in Siena, St. Catherine cared for those stricken by the plague. Aside from taking care of plague victims, she also ministered to prisoners. St. Catherine was widely acclaimed for her holiness and for her peacemaking abilities, that she was called to arbitrate feuds and misunderstandings.

In 1375 A.D., something very extraordinary happened to St. Catherine. She was praying in the Church of St. Cristina in Pisa, Italy, when she received the 'stigmata' from Christ - piercing her hands, feet and side. [The stigmata are the "wounds of Christ" which Christ shares with some of His chosen servants]. The other popular saints who was known to have this stigmata was St. Francis of Assisi.

In 1376 A.D., St. Catherine was instrumental in the return of the Papacy from Avignon, France, to Rome. She also helped reconcile the differences between the city-state of Florence and the Holy See.

In 1378 A.D., a great schism in the Church began with the dispute on Urban VI's papacy. A group against Urban VI, elected an antipope and set up a papal court in Avignon. St. Catherine worked unceasingly to secure support for Urban VI's papacy. Urban VI brought her to Rome and made her his advisor. St. Catherine then continued in her work of prayerful support until her death in 1380 A.D. at 33 years of age.

Before her death, St. Catherine of Siena spent the rest of her days composing "The Dialogues", a book which she wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It was told that without knowing how to read or write, and with no theological education, she dictated all that was put in "The Dialogues" - which became a reason for consecration her as a doctor of the Church. Besides "The Dialogues", she also dictated letters to popes, cardinals, princes and politicians. There are about 382 letters of great interest; remarkable for its beauty and spirituality.

St. Catherine of Siena was declared a saint in 1461 A.D. by Pope Pius II; she was declared a doctor of the Church in 1970 by Pope Paul VI; and in 1999 A.D., Pope John Paul II declared her, along with two other female saints (Bridget of Sweden and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross [Edith Stein]), as one of the six patrons of Europe (together with Sts. Benedict, Cyril and Methodius).

Teaching and spirituality

The main point of St. Catherine of Siena's thought and spirituality is this: God is truth/love - truth that is love and love that is truth - revealed in Jesus Christ and discovered in knowledge of oneself in God and of God in oneself. The symbol that captures the reality of this dynamic is the heart: more specifically, the heart of Jesus revealing God's heart, and the human heart responding to God's heart incarnated in Jesus.

For Catherine of Siena, it is charity, love springing from God, from which the human heart receives the source of life. And the means by which the human heart can "see and experience" God in this life, is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and embrace the truth/love He is. This emphasis of St. Catherine of Siena on truth/love, and the charity that springs forth from God, reveals her life and spirituality as ultimately a life of charity. She has truly lived a life of charity - giving her whole self and life for the work of the Church, especially the unity needed in the Church of her time.

Excerpts from writings

Oh boundless charity! I am not surprised that in your
blood I find the power of compassion, for I see that it
was out of divine compassion, not because you owed it
to us, that you shed your blood. And you took vengeance on
the cruelest of cruelties, the cruelty we inflicted on
ourselves when by sin we made ourselves worthy of death
(Letter T210, to Matteo Cenni).

You must love [others] with the same pure love with
which I love you. But you cannot do this for me because
I love you without being loved by you, even before you
existed...[Y]ou cannot repay me. But you must give this
love to other people, loving with without being loved by
them. You must love them without any concern for your
own spiritual or material profit, but only for the glory
and praise of my name, because I love them (The
Dialogues 88 165)

Edited from the following sources:

• Saints for Our Time
• Doctors of the Church
• Spiritualities of the Heart
• Catherine of Siena: Passion for the Truth, Compassion for Humanity, by Mary O' Driscoll, O.P.
• A Year with the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.
• The Friendship of God: Christianity as Friendship, by Segundo Galilea