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Who is Meister Eckhart?
Eckhart von Hochheim
Meister
Eckhart (c. 1260 - 1327/8) is one of the great Christian mystics. He was
born near Erfurt in Thuringia and in his distinguished career became a
Parisian Professor of Theology and took a leading pastoral and
organizational role in the Dominican Order.
In the language of the Christian tradition Eckhart expounds the eternal
mysteries in a style that is fresh and original in the best sense. Through
the vividness of his use of imagery (alluding to the mysteries of the spark
of the soul, the Abyss, the desert, the birth of the Word in the heart,
etc.) Eckhart paradoxically directs us to that which lies beyond image.
The depth and universality of Eckhart's teaching has drawn seekers of truth
Christian and non-Christian alike. His radical and penetrating insight makes
him a natural point of reference for a genuinely ecumenical understanding.
The Controversy
Despite Meister Eckhart's distinction and popularity, indeed partly because
of it, in the political and ecclesiastical turbulence of the fourteenth
century, the Meister found himself accused of heresy. Some passages of his
work were posthumously condemned as heretical or dangerous and a shadow was
cast over his reputation. His works were influential in late medieval
spirituality but later were almost forgotten. With the growing interest in
Eckhart today, both inside and outside the Church, it needs to be made clear
whether he is acceptable to the Church as a Christian theologian and
spiritual master.
Since 1980 steps have been taken by the Dominican Order, supported by lay
people and friends, to seek an official declaration from the Pope in order
to acknowledge "the exemplary character of Eckhart's activity and preaching
and to recommend his writings (particularly the spiritual works, treatises
and sermons) as an expression of authentic Christian mysticism and as
trustworthy guides to the Christian life according to the spirit of the
gospel".
In 1985 the Master of the Dominican Order set up a Commission to examine the
orthodoxy of Eckhart's teaching, and one of the initial aims of the Eckhart
Society1 was to support the work of that Commission, whose report has now
been submitted.
Some sayings of Meister Eckhart:
"Whoever possesses God in their being, has him in a divine manner,
and he shines out to them in all things; for them all things taste of God
and in all things it is God's image that they see."
"People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what
they are. If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant. If
you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous. We should not
think that holiness is based on what we do but rather on what we are, for it
is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works."
"It is a fair trade and an equal exchange: to the extent that you depart
from things, thus far, no more and no less, God enters into you with all
that is his, as far as you have stripped yourself of yourself in all things.
It is here that you should begin, whatever the cost, for it is here that you
will find true peace, and nowhere else." Talks of Instruction
In 1985, Pope John Paul II, said: "Did not Eckhart teach his disciples:
'All that God asks you most pressingly is to go out of yourself - and let
God be God in you'? One could think that, in separating himself from
creatures, the mystic leaves his brothers, humanity, behind. The same
Eckhart affirms that, on the contrary, the mystic is marvelously present to
them on the only level where he can truly reach them, that is in God."
1. The Eckhart Society is located in England.
This history of Meister Eckhart is found on the Dominican Website. St.
Dominic and St. Francis were friends. Friar Eckhart's writings are read by
anyone wishes to lead a deeper life in Christ and the writing we quoted is
not heresy.
Meister Eckhart's Sermons |
