Spend each day of Advent this year with Jon M. Sweeney reflecting on Meister Eckhart. The non-dualist medieval Christian mystic (1260 – 1329) teaches that the purpose of life is not finding the light but living gracefully without easy illumination. Eckhart understood hardship; he knew what it was to be empty and losing hope. But it was also at those times when he discovered it was in the bereft moments that he began to locate God—in his emptiness. For Eckhart, this was the same God of the Nativity manger. Advent is about embracing darkness in all of its gifts, which includes, in the end, the most profound reminder of how God is born within us.
Format of the E-Course
This is a 25-session e-course. Emails were originally intended to be delivered daily beginning on the first Sunday of Advent (December 1) and ending on Christmas Day (December 25). As it is "On-Demand," you choose your own start date and frequency for delivery of the emails to your inbox. Each email includes an essay by Jon M. Sweeney on how Eckhart’s wisdom applies to our times, a poem by Eckhart, and a spiritual practice for you to do as you reflect on the essay and poem’s relevance to your life.
In Session 19, you'll be able to watch the Q&A Zoom replay with Jon M. Sweeney that was held on December 19, 2024, when this e-course was first offered live.
About Our Leader
Jon M. Sweeney is S&P’s Contributing Editor for Books and New Media and is profiled in our Living Spiritual Teachers Project. He is an independent scholar, award-winning author, critic, and long-time book publisher; in the late 1990s he was a co-founder of Skylight Paths Publishing, a press focusing on books from many faith traditions. He’s the author of more than thirty books and is the leading interpreter of the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. Jon has led three e-courses at Spirituality & Practice on The Spirituality of St. Francis, The Spirituality of Cats, and A Month of Eckhart.
Jon’s understanding of the key images, phrases, and ideas found in Meister Eckhart’s writings are evident in three books of poetic meditations co-authored with Mark S. Burrows. They are Meister Eckhart’s Book of the Heart, Meister’s Eckhart’s Book of Secrets, and Meister Eckhart’s Book of Darkness and Light. He will be drawing on those poems throughout this e-course.
Watch this video invitation from Jon and then subscribe to the course using the button below it. (4 CEHs for chaplains available.)
Available On-Demand
(choose your own start date and frequency)
$59.95
