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Meister Eckhart

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1328) was a German Dominican preacher, mystic, and theologian whose profound sermons and writings made him a towering figure in medieval Christian spirituality. Born around 1260 near Gotha in Thuringia, likely as Eckhart von Hochheim, he entered the Dominican Order as a young man, receiving a robust education in theology and philosophy. He studied at the University of Paris, earning the title "Meister" (Master) after completing his Master of Theology degree by 1302, and served as prior of the Dominican house in Erfurt and vicar of Thuringia. Little is known of his personal life, including family details, as his focus remained on intellectual and spiritual pursuits within the church. Eckhart’s preaching career unfolded primarily in Strasbourg and Cologne, where he delivered sermons in both Latin and Middle High German, blending speculative theology with practical mysticism. Appointed professor of theology at Paris in 1302 and later provincial of the Dominican province of Saxony from 1303 to 1311, he preached to nuns, monks, and laypeople, emphasizing the soul’s union with God and the concept of detachment. His works, including the Book of Divine Consolation and numerous sermons, drew large audiences but also scrutiny; in 1326, the Archbishop of Cologne initiated an inquisition against him for suspected heresy due to his bold statements, such as calling God “nothing.” Eckhart appealed to Pope John XXII and died around 1328, likely in Avignon, before a final verdict. His legacy as a preacher endures through his influential mystical theology, later embraced by diverse Christian traditions despite posthumous condemnation of some teachings in 1329.
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Meister Eckhart emphasizes the deep spiritual truths found in the Bible, challenging the misconceptions and limited understanding of the Trinity and God's nature held by some. He encourages believers to seek a higher level of spiritual discernment beyond human reasoning and to allow God to work within them, bringing peace and unity with Christ. Eckhart delves into the concept of God's continuous creation and presence in all things, highlighting the divine essence that sustains all existence and the profound unity found in God.
Meister Eckhart Genuine Quotes
“ Infidels and some ignorant Christians wonder about that, and even some priests have about that such a small knowledge as a stone's. They think of the Trinity as of three cows or three stones. But he who can make distinction in God without number or quantity, knows that the three persons are one God.” “ This is my only and permanent complaint, that vulgar people, empty of the Spirit of God, want to judge solely by their human thinking what they listen to or read in the Bible, which has been pronounced and written by the Holy Spirit and in the Holy Spirit.” “ Christ our Lord, only He is the end we should follow and the end in which we should stay, with Whom we will unite, being equal with Him in all His Glory. ... There is no saint in heaven so perfect, that you are not able to pass over his sanctity with sanctity and life, and even higher in heaven to come and eternally remain.” “ All that God created six thousand years ago and even earlier, when He created the world, He creates all of them right now.” “ God flows inside creatures, yet He remains untouched by all of them, He has no need of them whatsoever.” “ His divinity depends on His power to share Himself with whatever is able to receive Him. If He was not sharing Himself, He would not be God.” Nothing exists outside of God, except for the nothing itself.” “ Let God work in you, give the work to God, and have peace. Don't worry if He works through your nature or above your nature, because both are His, nature and grace.” “ Each angel has a complete nature and differs from the other angels as an animal differs from another animal with a different nature.” “ If you take a fly inside God, this fly is more noble inside God than the highest angel is inside himself. All things inside God are equal, and they are God Himself.” “ What has no essence, does not exist. There is no creature that has essence, because the essence of all is in the presence of God. If God went out of the creatures even for a single moment, they would disappear into nothingness.” “ A man who exists without being separated from anything, receives the divinity wherefrom God Himself receives it.” “ Where our coming and our having come converge and become one, there we are born, we are created from the beginning and we receive again the form of the first Image.” “ If God was not inside everything, nature would stop any function and it would not ask for anything. You like it or not and you know it or not, nature mystically and in its greatest deep wants and asks for God.” “ If two men existed who lived the exactly same life, and if one of them had worthily received the Holy Communion of the body of our Lord just one time more than the other, then this man would be like a bright sun compared with the other, and he would enjoy a greater union with God.”
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Meister Eckhart (c. 1260–c. 1328) was a German Dominican preacher, mystic, and theologian whose profound sermons and writings made him a towering figure in medieval Christian spirituality. Born around 1260 near Gotha in Thuringia, likely as Eckhart von Hochheim, he entered the Dominican Order as a young man, receiving a robust education in theology and philosophy. He studied at the University of Paris, earning the title "Meister" (Master) after completing his Master of Theology degree by 1302, and served as prior of the Dominican house in Erfurt and vicar of Thuringia. Little is known of his personal life, including family details, as his focus remained on intellectual and spiritual pursuits within the church. Eckhart’s preaching career unfolded primarily in Strasbourg and Cologne, where he delivered sermons in both Latin and Middle High German, blending speculative theology with practical mysticism. Appointed professor of theology at Paris in 1302 and later provincial of the Dominican province of Saxony from 1303 to 1311, he preached to nuns, monks, and laypeople, emphasizing the soul’s union with God and the concept of detachment. His works, including the Book of Divine Consolation and numerous sermons, drew large audiences but also scrutiny; in 1326, the Archbishop of Cologne initiated an inquisition against him for suspected heresy due to his bold statements, such as calling God “nothing.” Eckhart appealed to Pope John XXII and died around 1328, likely in Avignon, before a final verdict. His legacy as a preacher endures through his influential mystical theology, later embraced by diverse Christian traditions despite posthumous condemnation of some teachings in 1329.