Women Mystics

by Louis Bouyer

Focusing on the lives and writings of five women mystics, the great theologian and spiritual writer Louis Bouyer shows that, far from relegating women to some inferior position, Christianity has often been shaped and steered by women. The Church passed beyond the collapse of medieval Scholasticism and the errors of the Renaissance largely due to a succession of exceptional feminine personalities. Bouyer studies five female figures whose influence catalyzed an interior renaissance within Catholicism—the kind the Church needs as much today as it did in times past. Between Hadewijch of Antwerp , Teresa of Avila , Thérèse of Lisieux , Elizabeth of the Trinity , and Edith Stein , there is a striking continuity, yet each is unique—and deeply creative—in her spiritual mission, and each has given to Christians a vivid glimpse into the reality of the living God

Genres: Religion, Biography

195 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Rev. Louis Bouyer (1913-2004) was a member of the French Oratory and one of the most respected and versatile Catholic scholars and theologians of the twentieth century.

A friend of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Joseph Ratzinger, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and a co-founder of the international review Communio, Bouyer was a former Lutheran minister who entered the Catholic Church in 1939.

He became a leading figure in the Catholic biblical and liturgical movements of the twentieth century, was an influence on the Second Vatican Council, and became well known for his excellent books on history of Christian spirituality. In addition to his many writings, Bouyer lectured widely across Europe and America.

Woman in the Church (with an epilogue by Balthasar and an essay by C.S. Lewis), was one of the first three books published by Ignatius Press, in 1979. Other Ignatius Press books by Bouyer include The Word Church and Sacraments in Protestantism and Catholicism, Women Mystics, and the introduction to John Henry Newman: Prayers Verses Devotions (Bouyer wrote a biography of Newman).

He was chosen by the Pope to be part of a team to initiate the International Theological Commission in 1969.

Reviews

[Pablo Rodriguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another one of those books that has a lot of good information but is difficult to read. I found myself reading whole pages without getting any sense of what I was reading. I'm not one who likes to struggle through a book.