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Meditating with the Mystics

Glenda Meakin
Sr. Anne Kathleen McLaughlin

On May 23rd, a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, eighty meditators made their way to St. John Chrysostom Church in Arnprior for a day with Anne Kathleen McLaughlin to learn about Christian medieval mystics and in particular, Julian of Norwich. The day was sponsored by the Ottawa Area Christian Meditation Community and was exceptionally well-organized by the Arnprior Meditation groups and church and school volunteers.

Ottawa-area coordinator Flora Benoit introduced Anne Kathleen McLaughlin, a member of the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of Pembroke. Anne Kathleen has been a teacher, has worked in the field of Religious Communication and, for the last 12 years has been a spiritual guide to women. She offers workshops on women mystics. She is the author of two novels: A Place Called Morning and Planted in the Sky.

In the morning, Sister Anne Kathleen asked us why we came. Some answers were: curiosity; wanting to learn more of a woman ’s way of connecting to God; and to share the intimate relationship mystics had with God.

For inspiration on our spiritual path we can look to the mystics. What is our attraction to them? Theologian Margaret Brennan says mystics are people who come in touch with the sacred source of who they really are and are able to realize and experience that in their lives. Lawrence Leshan says the mystic perceives himself as one with the universe.

In the course of her informative talk, Sr. Anne Kathleen touched on a number of different mystics to show us what they believed and perceived about God and about life on this planet. “What they tell us of their experience is a gift to us in our lives, especially in our prayer, our struggles with darkness and doubt, our relationships with all of life. ”

She spoke of Hildegard of Bingen (12 c. Benedictine Abbess), Angela of Foligno (13th c. third order Franciscan, Italy), Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955 Jesuit priest, paleontologist, France), Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941, England), Teresa of Avila (16th c. Spanish Carmelite), Etty Hillesum (1914-1943, Amsterdam), Thomas Merton (20th c. 1915-1968 Trappist Cistercian Monk), John of the Cross (16th c. Spanish Carmelite), Hadewijch of Brabant (1220-1240 Beguine, Flanders), Julian of Norwich (14th c. anchoress, England) and two mystics of other faith traditions: Rumi (13th c. Sufi poet, Afghanistan) and Hafiz (14th c. Persian poet).

The lion ’s share of the day, Sr. Anne Kathleen devoted to Julian of Norwich. Julian ’s experience was a steady growth in the love of God. John Main often quoted her, and in the last days of his life it was her words he most wanted to hear. She was born in 1342, an educated woman but little is known of her life, not even her name. But her one night of visions provided the material for her devoted meditations and writings.

Anne Kathleen said, “Mystics were given to us because we need them. ” They may be of most value to us when they shared their dark periods. Julian lived through very challenging times: outbreaks of the black plague, the 100 years war, the peasant ’s revolt, burning of heretics, and church schisms. Julian wrote, “He did not say you shall not be tempest tossed, but he said you shall not be overcome. ”

Through her wish to enter deeply into the suffering of Jesus, she felt his immense love. Her words, full of tenderness are the words of a mother to a beloved child: “He is quick to clasp us to himself, for we are his joy and his delight, and he is our salvation and our life. ” “He is our clothing. In his love, he wraps and holds us. He enfolds us for love and will never let us go. ”

Thomas Merton wrote in Seeds of Destruction, “Julian is without doubt one of the most wonderful of all Christian voices. She gets greater and greater in my eyes as I grow older, and whereas in the old days I used to be crazy about St. John of the Cross, I would not exchange him now for Julian if you gave me the world and the Indies and all the Spanish mystics rolled up in one bundle. ”

Following meditation, participants were treated to a delicious lunch organized by Jean Anderchek and her team. There was an opportunity to do an outdoor walking meditation, led by Joan McGuinness.

In the afternoon, Sr. Anne Kathleen performed the fictional play written by James Janda, based on the writings of Julian of Norwich in The Revelations of Divine Love. When Sr. Anne Kathleen visited Julian ’s cell in Norwich, England in 1999 she strongly felt the anchoress ’ presence, and later performed the play in Julian ’s anchorhold

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The play opens in Julian ’s cell where she is in conversation with Margery Kempe, another mystic who had stopped at her window to visit. Julian then shares with us her daily experiences of other visitors, as well as what she gleaned from her 16 visions. She references the Ancrene Wisse, the 12th c. guide for anchoresses which was widely read and followed at the time. The language of the play is passionately inspiring, loving and reassuring. It informs, guides, mildly chastises and is deeply personal.

The end of the day was a time for sharing our thoughts, giving our thanks to Sr. Anne Kathleen, expressing our hope for further exploration of the mystics, and expressing our appreciation to the organizers.

Barbara Dorrell
Ottawa

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