Social Justice Mysticism Syllabus

Uses three historical examples of socially engaged spirituality in the 20th century: Catholic Worker founder Dorothy Day, French philosopher Simone Weil, and the Eastern Orthodox saint Maria of Paris. All three of these women were deeply formed by prayer and mystical experience, and all three took on power structures of their day (two to their own deaths in World War 2). This course will examine key aspects of their lives and writings with an eye towards answering the following question: how does a life of deep prayer form courage for activism and helping the poor? How does Christian charity manifest itself at both individual and systematic levels? We will be particularly attentive to how these questions shape our own contemporary discernment for the lives of prayer, ministry, and social justice to which God calls us and the church.0