The essential writings of Christian mysticism

Pt. 1. Foundations of mystical practice

Sect. 1. Biblical interpretation

1. Commentary on the Song of Songs / Origen

2. life of Moses / Gregory of Nyssa

3. Sermon on Psalm 41 (Vulgate) / Augustine of Hippo

4. Sermons on the Song of Songs 23 / Bernard of Clairvaux

5. Sermon 2 / Meister Eckhart

6. Commentary on the Song of Songs / Madame Guyon

Sect. 2. Asceticism and purgation

1. life of St. Antony / Athanasius of Alexandria

2. Praktikos / Evagrius Ponticus

3. life of Mary of Oignies / James of Vitry

4. Purgation and purgatory / Catherine of Genoa

5. ascent of Mount Carmel / John of the Cross

Sect. 3. Prayer, liturgy, and sacraments

1. Prayer / Origen

2. Armenian hymn no. 1 / Ephrem the Syrian

3. Conferences 9 and 10 / John Cassian

4. third ethical discourse / Symeon the New Theologian

5. Vision VII / Hadewijch of Antwerp

6. Sermon 39 / John Tauler

7. On the four stages of prayer / Teresa of Avila

8. way of the pilgrim

Sect. 4. Inner and outer practices

1. Philokalia, "discourse on Abba Philimon"

2. Carthusian customs / Guigo I.

3. Spiritual friendship / Aelred of Rievaulx

4. Letters of spiritual direction

5. spiritual guide / Miguel de Molinos

Sect. 5. Mystical itineraries

1. threefold way

2. four degrees of violent charity / Richard of St. Victor

3. mind's journey into God / Bonaventure

4. mirror of simple annihilated souls / Marguerite Porete

5. Sermon 39 / John Tauler

6. ladder of perfection / Walter Hilton

Pt. 2. Aspects of mystical consciousness

Sect. 6. Living the trinity

1. On the trinity / Augustine

2. mirror of faith / William of Saint-Thierry

3. flowing light of the godhead / Mechthild of Magdeburg

4. one hundred and fifty chapters / Gregory Palamas

5. living flame of love / John of the Cross

Sect. 7. Encountering Christ

1. Sermons on the Song of Songs 74 / Bernard of Clairvaux

2. Francis of Assisi and the stigmata

3. clock of wisdom / Henry Suso

4. Reflections of divine love / Julian of Norwich

5. Encounters with Christ / Simone Weil

Sect. 8. Love and knowledge

1. golden letter / William of Saint-Thierry

2. Sermons on the Song of Songs 83 / Bernard of Clairvaux

3. cloud of unknowing

4. Two letters on mystical theology / Nicholas of Cusa

5. True Christianity / Johann Arndt

Sect. 9. Positive and negative ways of God

1. mystical theology / Dionysius

2. Two songs of praise / Francis of Assisi

3. Granum Sinapis : poem and commentary

4. English poets on God in nature

5. Hymn of the universe / Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Sect. 10. Vision, contemplation, and rapture

1. Contemplation in the fathers

2. Augustine on vision and rapture

3. Dialogues 2.35 / George the Great

4. Hymn 18 / Symeon the New Theologian

5. Hildegard of Bingen as visionary and theorist of visions

6. Contemplation and its forms / Hugh of St. Victor

7. fire of love / Richard Rolle

8. On the vision of God / Nicholas of Cusa

9. Autobiography / Ignatius of Loyola

10. Life / Teresa of Avila

11. Excerpts from the journal / George Fox

Sect. 11. Distress and dereliction

1. Moral interpretation of job / Gregory the Great

2. memorial / Angela of Foligno

3. Sermon 3 / John Tauler

4. dark night of the soul / John of the Cross

5. Story of a soul / Theresa of Lisieux

Sect. 12. Deification and birthing

1. Deification among the fathers

2. Birthing in patristic and medieval texts

3. Questions to Thalassius / Maximus the Confessor

4. Sermon 101 / Meister Eckhart

5. Theologia Deutsch

Sect. 13. Union with God

1. Homily 10 / Macarius

2. On loving God / Bernard of Clairvaux

3. Sermon 52 / Meister Eckhart

4. little book of enlightenment / John Ruusbroec

5. interior castle 7.1-2 / Teresa of Avila

6. spiritual canticle / John of the Cross

7. treatise on the love of God / Francis de Sales

8. relation of 1654 / Marie of the Incarnation

Pt. 3. Implications on the mystical life

Sect. 14. Mysticism and heresy

1. Mystical heresy in early Christianity

2. heresy of the free spirit

3. Meister Eckhart's condemnation

4. condemnations of quietism

5. Explication of the maxims of the saints regarding the interior life / Francois Fenelon

Sect. 15. Contemplation and action

1. Pastoral care 2.5 / Gregory the Great

2. Sermons on the Song of Songs 50 / Bernard of Clairvaux

3. Selections from Sermon 86 / Meister Eckhart

4. cloud of unknowing

5. dialogue / Catherine of Siena

6. New seeds of contemplation / Thomas Merton

brief critical bibliography of Christian mysticism.