Meister Eckhart
1260-1327
God creates the world and all things in one present now: and the time that passed away a thousand years ago is now as present and as near to God as this very instant. If a soul stands in this present now, this instant, the Father bears in her his only begotten Son, and in that same birth the soul is born back into God. It is one birth: as often as she is born back into God, the Father begets the only begotten Son in her.Meister Eckhart was one of the great Christian mystics. He was born near Erfurt in Thuringia and in his distinguished career became Professor of Theology in Paris and took a leading pastoral and organizational role in the Dominican Order. In the language of Christian tradition Eckhart expounds his message of liberation and detachment in a style that is fresh and original in the best sense, and through his vivid use of imagery paradoxically directs us always to that which is beyond image. His work is valued by students from all religious backgrounds and none; the depth and universality of his teaching make him a natural point of reference for a genuine understanding of the wider ecumenism.Meister Eckhart, in Sermon for the Feast of St Germanus