The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives

by John Anthony McGuckin

To read any one of these ancient meditations—to repeat it to yourself, to explore its implications and its relevance to your daily life, to savor it—is to begin the soul's ascent on the path of mystical knowledge. Collected here are three hundred short meditations by Christian contemplatives from the second to the fourteenth centuries. Many were written by the Desert Fathers, the legendary monks who fled the decadence of city life to dedicate themselves to the life of the spirit in the deserts of Egypt and Palestine. The greatest of these teachers became experienced psychic guides, experts in mapping the stages of spiritual development, who taught and corresponded with disciples from all over Christendom. The meditations are arranged under three traditional headings (1) practice, geared primarily at developing sustained attention and discipline in the beginner; (2) theory, presenting guidance in overcoming obstacles that commonly arise in intermediate stages of spiritual practice; and (3) gnosis, reflections to be shared among the more spiritually advanced. From the Philokalia to Origen to Symeon the New Theologian, these ancient voices speak directly to the soul, as relevant today as they were centuries ago.

Genres: Spirituality, Mysticism, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian, Christianity

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

John Anthony McGuckin is the Nielsen Emeritus Professor of Byzantine Christian Studies at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, and currently professor of early Christianity in the Theological Faculty of Oxford University. An archpriest of the Romanian Orthodox Church and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, he has written more than thirty scholarly books. He lives in the UK.

Reviews

[Maughn Gregory]

My research on contemplative traditions reveals a surprising consistency of themes common to those traditions, including simplicity (asceticism), compassion, non-distracted concentration, and insight.

[Conner Hinton]

I found a lot of encouragement in this book which collects some beautiful reflections from patristic figures on topics such as prayer, the pursuit of the knowledge of God, and putting away worldly treasures.

“Love and self-control liberate the soul from its obsessions. Reading and reflection deliver the intellect from ignorance. Regular prayer brings the soul into the very presence of God.” - Maximus the Confessor

[Logan Streondj]

Very profound excellent quotations from early Christian mystics really showing a strong continuity with modern mysticism. Also a kudos to the editor for picking out such good verses. This is definitely worth archiving next to the Bible.

[Sam]

"Whatever path you find your soul longs after in the quest for God, do that, and always watch over your heart's integrity."

[Jeanette Beland]

I am reading it again in 2019. Beautiful and thoughtful writings.

[Paul]

From the Introduction: "This book is a portable collection of ... Christian monastic wisdom, a very small edition of the vast amount of teachings that exist and are still used in the monasteries of the Eastern Christian world to this day. It has been arranged, in the manner of an ancient manual of instruction, in three ascending books: Praktikos, Theoretikos, and Gnostikos. The 'sentences' (which in ancient Greek meant a unit of thought, or paragraph) have been edited, again in the ancient manner, in the form of three 'centuries,' or groups of one hundred aphorisms. Each single sentence is meant to be taken as a day's reflection. It was first supposed to be learned by heart, at the beginning of the day, and then repeated as the daily text in every spare moment of quiet. Such moments of hesychia (quietness of soul) were structured by the early monks around the simple repetitive tasks that made up daily life in remote deserts. The regular monotony of basket weaving (a favored monastic employment) was interspersed with the repetition of prayers and the musing on the 'sentence' of the day. Today life is busier and more demanding, but even the busiest of us have moments of hesychia, in those times spent waiting for buses or trains to arrive or depart, or when we are driving or walking or simply sitting idly for a moment. Such times are ideally suited for the recitation of the sentence and its dialectic - teasing out the implications of what such an aphorism could mean: how have we already experienced it; how could it illuminate a truth about our own heart or the troubles of our friends' hearts or the secret ways that God wishes to develop our seeking soul?"

[Ivan Granger]

This is the book that, years ago, introduced me to the stunning poetry of Symeon the New Theologian, igniting my passion for his visionary poetry of light and transformation. You’ll also find poems and poetic renditions of writings from many other saints and mystics of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Still a favorite of mine.

[Cindy]

Desert Fathers \Essesnes have always interested me ......

[Charles]

A nice collection of teachings of the desert fathers, be careful with the introduction and remember the context the fathers of the desert where writing, that of orthodox Christianity.

[Mark Lacy]

I would've gotten more out of this, I think, if I'd been disciplined enough (like a desert monk!) to read just one selection a day, and spend 15 minutes meditating on it.

[elbren]

well, I copied 3 of the sayings into my notebook and put aphrahat and sahdona on my reading list, so I guess it was ok

[Y.R.M. Breemes]

not really my thing, i am (i think) a to down to earth christian,