Marguerite Porete was a French mystic born in the thirteenth century. She was part of the Beguines, a voluntary, informal semi-monastic community not unlike the new monasticism popping up in some urban centers. Marguerite, though unknown to almost all contemporary Christians, was influential and controversial in her day. She was burned at the stake in Paris in 1310 and her views later condemned at the Council of Vienne in 1312.
What got her in trouble was The Mirror of Simple Souls, Marguerite’s exploration on what she calls the seven states of grace. In the fifth and sixth states (the seventh can only be reached after death) the human soul is so united to God that it disappears. Our wills are completely replaced by the divine will, such that we are no longer capable of sinning. All our thoughts, feelings, and desires get swallowed up in the Divine. We do not even wish for the comforts of God because we are already one with God. Keep Reading>>>
No comments:
Post a Comment