Mystical awakening

When we think of one of the great eras of European Christian mystical awakening, it was the 14th century which was, in one way, a terrible time to be alive. The Black Death carried away up to maybe half the population; there was no household that hadn’t suffered a loss. And alongside that, just as we know through COVID, it brought social and economic chaos with it. And it was also a time of political violence, social unrest, the peasants’revolt in England, the 100 Years’ War. This was not a romantic time of chivalry and ladies in distress and knights on white horses. This was a time of great social upheaval, and it was in this chaos, social change, that this great mystical school appeared Europe wide. There’s the English mystical school – Julian of Norwich, The Cloud of Unknowing, Richard Rolle, Walter Hilton. They were part of the European culture, the European faith, and the same mystical awakening was happening in Europe. It is precisely in these times of great upheaval and insecurity and anxiety and violence, that the contemplative wisdom is most needed and also where it can be generated. 

(Sources of Wisdom by Laurence Freeman OSB )