Enduring Grace : Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics

Rating:
Summary: A fine addition to a sadly lacking area of study
Review: Reading through the book Enduring Grace was quite a treat. In it we are exposed to seven women who each in their own way experienced the spiritual life in a profound way. Sadly, the tendency for Christian History is to focus on major events, or on the major influence of a male leader. We hear of the church fathers, the reformers, the men who sacrificed themselves, who added great wisdom to the life of the church. We do not hear as much about the women who have been such an integral part of the Community of Christ. Yet, one cannot help but think that women have been as important to the development of the church as have men from the very beginning. Through their prayers, their wisdom, their courage, and, yes, sometimes their teaching the church has moved forward and has matured in its understanding of the Triune God.
The seven women mystics which are discussed give to us an understanding how the Spirit works in the lives of all believers. We find that there is not a single "type" of person that seems to exhibit a spiritual intensity. Rather, we are shown that a variety of personalities and temperaments all have a place in the spiritual life. What is common to all, however, is a burning desire to come close to God, and experience the fullness of his life in every way. It was interesting to read the initial description of each woman, hearing of their backgrounds and the circumstances of their entering a convent (which was essentially the only spiritual office open to women). As the particulars end, however, we get a sense of a common experience, one which seems to be influenced by the era and locale in which they lived, but has a timeless characteristic. They are women who forsake utterly the trappings of this world and find their way into Eternity while still living. Their thoughts, desires, writings seem to express the longing for what they have been given a taste of, and the ability to fight and overcome those encumbrances which might draw them away. This fight, however, is not seen as onerous, but rather there is almost a natural grace to be spiritual people. In other words their lives do not seem to reflect the result of intense battles to achieve spirituality, rather they seem to be people whom the Spirit chooses to work through and gives them grace to live as they do. This is not to say that their lives were without struggle, for we read also of their refreshing humanity and difficulties in living this life as holy people. It seems as though there is an inner storm which drives these women to seek further the place of Christ in their lives. But, the taste of heaven which these women have been given allows them to overcome any hindrance and seek further contact with the Divine. This taste of heaven leads each mystic in a slightly different direction and emphasis, one as a visionary, one as helper of the sick and needy, one as a spiritual leader for communities, but it is the yearning for the fullness of life which drives these women and helps them to overcome without regret the offerings of this world.
My own tendency is to relegate the experiences and thoughts of these women to a separate category of Christian life, to say that they were the products of their own religious climate and while inspirational, they are not models for life. Yet, as I reflect on this I begin to sense that these woman are not totally unique in the life of the church, and that even today there are those who reflect the qualities which were exemplified in these women. Definitely, there are points at which I might disagree with their theology, but their lives offer a call to each and every Christian, female and male. They show us the fullness of life even in and through suffering which comes from being fully devoted in every aspect of life to the life and love of Christ. They encourage us to work through the often mundane experiences and seek how God is working in our own hearts. These women were not simply historical curiosities, but rather they exhibit how the Spirit works outside of our own societal boundaries in every time to raise up people to be lights to those around them. Certainly, these seven women were influenced by their own eras and contexts, but we see that the Spirit in them was not, and worked and continues to work in the lives of those who seek after God with all their hearts, minds, and souls.
While I am personally wary about how these women can be applied to some kind of nebulous "spirituality", for certainly what defines them is their distinctly Christian beliefs, this book is an enormously good introduction to these interesting women. To know them, though, is to share what they all believed, lacking that leaves a bit out in their final analysis, which is my only critique of Flinders.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting women, Boring book.
Review: Surely I'm not the only one who found this book totally [bad]. The only thing it made me wonder about is how it's possible to write such a thorougly BORING book about such fascinating women. The writing is just dull and full of the author's biases and prejudices, which just aren't nearly as interesting as the subjects themselves. It's written in that old-school feminism (negative, no fun) tone that thank God feminism has since moved beyond. My advice: find another book about women mystics not filtered through Flinder's lens.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting women, Boring book.
Review: Surely I'm not the only one who found this book totally [bad]. The only thing it made me wonder about is how it's possible to write such a thorougly BORING book about such fascinating women. The writing is just dull and full of the author's biases and prejudices, which just aren't nearly as interesting as the subjects themselves. It's written in that old-school feminism (negative, no fun) tone that thank God feminism has since moved beyond. My advice: find another book about women mystics not filtered through Flinder's lens.

Rating:
Summary: Finally a book does justice to women mystics
Review: This book provides inspiring insights into two subjects which are rarely given fair analysis: (1) women saints and (2) the mystical experience. By definition the mystical experience is difficult to explain or analyze in words, but the author's approach and beautiful references help make the experiences of these saints come to life -- and these saints are not the life-denying, intellectual complex, emotionally stunted type, but the divinely inspired type. I would not call the author's perspective feminist but one free of conventional masculine/church biases. I will reread this book often.

Rating:
Summary: enduring grace
Review: This is a wonderful book. The personalities of the subjects appear to have been quite different;the author is engaged with all of them. There is much to relate to, and easy opportunities to think about different aspects of one's self and one's spiritual appetites in reading the seven essays. These are very cool remarks for a book that I found informative and moving.