Turning to Mechthild of Magdeburg

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

You're listening to a podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation. To learn more, visit cac.org.

James Finley (0:07)

Greetings, I'm Jim Finley.

Kirsten Oates (0:11)

And I'm Kirsten Oates.

James Finley (0:13)

Welcome to Turning to the Mystics.

Kirsten Oates (0:23)

Welcome, everyone, to season eight of Turning to the Mystics. And Jim and I are here together, and we're very excited to introduce you to our new mystic for season eight.

Welcome, Jim.

James Finley (0:36)

Yes, welcome, yes. Good to be back together again.

Kirsten Oates (0:39)

So I think you've already announced our new mystic in a previous season, but I'll let you introduce her.

James Finley (0:44)

Yes, I'll begin by saying that we're kind of entering a new phase in the series of reflections on these different mystics. Because up till now, each of the mystics we've explored have been mystics that have been very much a part of my life since I was in the monastery. I was introduced to them there. I've been reading them over the years, I've given retreats on them many times. So now we're beginning mystics that I've been very aware of for a long time, but haven't really sat with in that extended way. So with Mechthild, my contemplative prayer group was St. Monica's, we'd meet twice a month. And I would give a half hour talk on one of the mystics. Then we would do an hour of sitting and walking meditation. And so I spent a year with Mechthild. And so I spent a year with her and in preparing for this podcast, I've been getting re-immersed back in her again. So I'm kind of on a learning curve also with her getting back into the subtleties of her guidance that she gives us. So with that said, we'll begin as usual with what we know of her, who she was historically, to help us understand and appreciate better who she is spiritually.

Is that Mechthild was born in Germany around the year 1207, where she lived until her death, till around 1282 or possibly as late as 1294

The two main sources that we know about her life is that we know that she was a Beguine. And so by understanding the Beguines, we can understand a lot about her, because it helps us understand the life that she lived. So the Beguines was a spiritual renewal movement in Germany of women, there were also men called Beguards, but the women, they lived in community and they committed their life to seeking God and a heartfelt devotional sincerity of Christ-like discipleship. So it was a spiritual renewal movement of women within the Christian church in Germany.

And what's different about them is that they didn't live in monasteries, they lived in communities in the world. And also what's different is they didn't belong to religious order, so they didn't take vows, so they weren't Franciscans or Dominicans or whatever, so they weren't under religious superior within a community. And so these were lay women living in community in the world.

They were also very open. If they felt God was calling them to, they could leave and get married if they wanted to and have children and so on, however they felt God's will was. And they made their living, they were self-supporting. So they were seamstresses, they did house cleaning, they helped prepare the dead for burial, they did different services.

And this was their life, really. And so really it's a deep commitment in the world to Christ and to transformation. And in this sense, it kind of echoes Center for Action and Contemplation. In the Center for Action and Contemplation, we don't live together in community, but because of cyberspace, we're connected as a spiritual renewal within the Christian tradition. And also on these podcasts, we're like the Begins. And they're all over the world. We're sharing this communal awakening and how we can help each other get closer to God and share it with the world.

The second thing we know about her is the book that she wrote. She wrote one book and she spent her whole life writing it. As a matter of fact, this book called The Flowing Light of the Godhead, she wrote through her whole life on up to old age and died. She wrote it while she was dying. Matter of an old age, at the last two books, it's very touching because she was living in this community with the Sturtian nuns and she became blind. She couldn't feed herself, couldn't clothe herself and she lost all sense of God's presence in life. And she had, she dictated the last two books. So she comes full circle, being at peace in this utter poverty and then died that way. So she's kind of an extraordinary person in that way, I think. So when we're turning to Mechthild for guidance, we're turning to the guidance she offers in the Flowing Light of the Godhead, her book.