In Conversation with Mechthild of Magdeburg: Love, Longing, and the Divine (Session 1)

What can a 13th-century woman mystic teach us about longing, love,

and our relationship with the Divine today?

As autumn invites us to slow down, let go, and become attentive to the quiet work of transformation, we will meet Mechthild of Magdeburg within the world of the Beguines and explore her passionate vision of relationship with God, marked by longing, intimacy, vulnerability, and love. Then, through poetry, contemplative reading, and spiritual journaling, we’ll listen for what her words might awaken within us today.

Session One: Mechthild and the Beguines

In this session, we’ll meet Mechthild and the remarkable women known as the Beguines, who created lives centered in prayer, contemplation, community, and service outside traditional monastic structures. We’ll explore how this spiritual movement shaped Mechthild’s life and writing and reflect on what these medieval women can teach us about living contemplatively in the world today.