John of the Cross - a master of the mystical tradition

 Picture at left is from here

To-day is the Day of Remembrance of John of the Cross - the writer of the mystical classics, The Dark Night of the Soul and The Living Flame of Love and more.

For those who would wish to read the works of John of the Cross, please be introduced to a marvellous website for reading - for free - the riches of the Christian tradition, the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.  This site is a storehouse of great treasures available to all.  For the works of John of the Cross, please go here.

A quote for to-day from The Living Flame of Love:

... He loves thee with liberality, without self-interest, only to do thee good, showing joyfully His countenance full of grace, and saying: 

I am thine and for thee, and it is my pleasure to be what I am, that I may give Myself to thee and be thine.  

Who then  shall describe thy feeling, of blessed soul, when thus beloved, and so highly honoured?

The two Dorothys: Dorothy Soelle and Dorothy Day and A Radical Christian Creed

Into the Editor's email, from time to time, drops this anthology of interesting stuff. The site also hosts lots of blogs.

Among to-days riches, I have discovered Dorothee Soelle.  Seems to me that Dorothee is a wonderful book-end for that English-speaking Dorothy, Dorothy Day.  Both Dorothy-s are worthy of exploration. Here is more about Dorothy Soelle

In among all this, along with the discovery of Dorothee Soelle, has come the discovery of a blog called The Moltmanniac honouring the work of Jurgen Moltmann -- but all that will be saved for another day.  Below I am posting A Radical Christian Creed by Dorothee Soelle.

CREDO
I believe in God
who created the world not ready made
like a thing that must forever stay what it is
who does not govern according to eternal laws
that have perpetual validity
nor according to natural orders
of poor and rich,
experts and ignoramuses,
people who dominate and people subjected.
I believe in God
who desires the counter-argument of the living
and the alteration of every condition
through our work
through our politics.

I believe in Jesus Christ
who was right when he
“as an individual who can’t do anything”
just like us
worked to alter every condition
and came to grief in so doing
Looking to him I discern
how our intelligence is crippled,
our imagination suffocates,
and our exertion is in vain
because we do not live as he did

Every day I am afraid
that he died for nothing
because he is buried in our churches,
because we have betrayed his revolution
in our obedience to and fear
of the authorities.
I believe in Jesus Christ
who is resurrected into our life
so that we shall be free
from prejudice and presumptuousness
from fear and hate
and push his revolution onward
and toward his reign

I believe in the Spirit
who came into the world with Jesus,
in the communion of all peoples
and our responsibility for what will become of our earth:
a valley of tears, hunger, and violence
or the city of God.
I believe in the just peace
that can be created,
in the possibility of meaningful life
for all humankind,
in the future of this world of God.
Amen

A tale of two modern mystics: Edith Stein and Etty Hillesum meet

 Picture from here

If you are a member of the Christian community that worships at St Paul's, Bakery Hill in Ballarat, you will have heard of Etty Hillesum.  Etty is a favourite of our parish priest, Father Constantine. A Jewish woman, Etty was a modern mystic.  Father Constantine often quotes from her and tells us of the insights he has found from reading her work.

It is known that, historically, Etty met Edith Stein.  They met at at Westerbork Transit Camp.  Both died in the Holocaust.  Cristiana Dobner has written a work of the imagination about the meeting of Etty and Edith.  Readers will find it here.  The French writer Evelyn Frank has written about Etty in With Etty Hillesum: in the pursuit of happiness, an unexpected path. Finally, there is  a short piece by Robert Ellsburg.

For the writings of Edith Stein, please go here.