Mechthild of Magdeburg: Session 3

Turning to the Mystics with James Finley

Center for Action and Contemplation

Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2023

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is the third session that focuses on the Beguine mystic, Mechthild of Magdeburg. In the tenor of the ancient practice of Lectio Divina, James Finley begins with passages from Mechthild of Magdeburg's book The Flowing Light of the Godhead, reflects on the qualitative essence of the spirit of this text, and finishes with a meditative practice. Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here. The book we will be using this season, The Flowing Light of the Godhead, can be found here. Connect with us: Have a question you'd like Jim or Kirsten to answer about Mechthild of Magdeburg? Email us: [email protected] or leave us voicemail. Questions for this season will only be accepted until October 30th, 2023. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to a podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation to learn more
0:05.0	visit caac.org.
0:08.0	Greetings. I'm Jim Finley.
0:11.0	Welcome to Turning to the Mystics.
0:23.0	Greetings, everyone, and welcome to our time together.
0:27.0	Turning for guidance to the Christian mystic, Mattel de Magdeburg.
0:32.0	As Mattel continued writing the flowing light of the Godhead over the years, on up to her death, really,
0:40.0	she continues to share these ecstatic exchanges between herself and God.
0:46.0	And as we read her, as we listen to these exchanges,
0:53.0	even though we may not be experiencing God's intimate oneness with us, with the depth or purity that she does,
1:02.0	the extent to which we're moved by the beauty, by the poetic beauty of that union,
1:08.0	bears witness that we're already on this love path of which he speaks and offers us guidance
1:14.0	being receptively open to it that it might deepen throughout the course of our life.
1:23.0	And as the years went on, these exchanges continued,
1:28.0	but she begins to layer in other aspects of love.
1:33.0	For example, she starts layering in the difficulties and challenges of everyday life,
1:40.0	in which this love is experienced.
1:42.0	You know, the beginnings they didn't take vows. They lived in community, but they did vote for someone to act as their superior or guide.
1:50.0	And so she talks about the troubles of just the politics of things and personalities and so on life,
1:58.0	just the complexities and challenges of life.
2:02.0	And also she talks about problems with the church, the fear of persecution that we said earlier,
2:08.0	you know, the Dominican supported, Eckhart and so on, supported the beginnings.
	...

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