Docente: Prof.
Reason for the course
The Christian mystics have a unique contribution to make to the Church’s understanding of, engagement with, and proclamation of Christ.
Objectives
The course aims to do three things: to examine texts from Saints Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux which express their understanding of Christ; to relate their Christology to that of the wider Christian tradition; and to consider how their mystical writings as a whole might speak to questions of Christology.
Content
The planned content (subject to change as the course unfolds) is as follows:
- Teresa: prayer as relationship Teresa’s witness to the risenness of Christ
- Teresa: a Christology worth fighting for
- John of the Cross: spousal language
- John’s Christological foundation: los Romances
- John of the Cross and the real ‘Christ of faith’
- Jesus and the dark night
- Thérèse: the great Christ’s way of littleness
- Thérèse: facing into the wind
- Christology and mission
- Mystical Christology: conclusions and prospects
Methodology
A series of lessons, with interactive sharing and home reflection.
Evaluation criteria
The participant will be evaluated according to their attendance at the lessons, and with a final oral exam on the basis of their reading of a chosen mystical text and of the lessons.
Distribution of work time
Participation in the lessons, reading of mystical texts at home, attention to questions sent out by email.
Bibliography
- San Juan de la Cruz Obras Completas EDE, Madrid, 2009.
- English tr. The Collected Works of St John of the Cross, tr. Kieran Kavanagh and Otilio Rodríguez, revised edition, Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites ICS, Washington 1991.
- Marjorie Flower, Centred on love: the poems of Saint John of the Cross, Sydney 1983.
- St Teresa of Avila, The Collected works 3 volumes, translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, Otilio Rodríguez ICS Publications, Washington.
- St Teresa of Avila, The Collected Letters, 2 volumes translated by Kieran Kavanaugh 2001, 2007, ICS Publications, Washington; https://www.icspublications.org/collections/teresa-of-avila.
- St Therese of Lisieux, Story of a soul ICS Publications, Washington 1996.
- St Therese of Lisieux, Her Last Conversations, translated by John Clarke, ICS publications, Washington 1977; See further works: https://www.icspublications.org/collections/therese-of-lisieux.
- Pseudo-Dionysius, The Complete Works, in “The Classics of Western Spirituality” series, Paulist Press 1987.
- Tomás Álvarez, Prayer: Journeying to God with St Teresa, tr. Anne Harriss, Teresian Press, Oxford 2019.
- Secundino Castro Cristo, Vida del hombre, EDE Madrid 1991.
- Ross Collings, John of the Cross, MG, Collegeville, 1990.
- Norbert Cummins, Freedom to Rejoice, London 1991.
- Mark McIntosh, Mystical Theology, Blackwell 1998.
- Mary McCormack OCD Upon this mountain: prayer in the Carmelite Tradition, Teresian Press 2009.
- Francis Kelly Nemeck & Marie Theresa Coombs, O Blessed Night: recovering from addiction, codependency and attachment Alba House 1991.
- Iain Matthew, https://www.teresianum.net/persone/corpo-docente/iain-scott-matthew/.
- Peter Tyler, St John of the Cross, Continuum 2010.
- Peter Tyler, The Return to the Mystical: Ludwig Wittgenstein, Teresa of Avila, and the Christian mystical tradition Continuum 2011.
- Emmanuel Renault, The Apostolate of Contemplatives according to St Teresa of Avila Darlington 1981.
- Joseph Ratzinger “Taking bearings in Christology”, Behold the Pierced One – an approach to a spiritual Christlology Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1986, pp.13-46.
- Rowan Williams, “The deflections of desire” in Silence and the Word – Negative Theology and the Incarnation ed. O. Davies & D. Turner, CUP 2002, pp. 115-135.