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On the Way to God; Method of Prayer; etc.

Madame Jeanne Marie Guyon

Madame Guyon (Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Mothe) (1648-1717) was an influential French mystic and author. She was born near Orléans, and was educated in a convent, where she demonstrated ascetic and mystical tendencies. Her desire was to join a monastic order, but in 1664 she was forced into a marriage with a rich man, Jacques Guyon. Independently she continued her ascetic practices – including harsh physical discipline; eventually, under the guidance of a Benedictine prioress, she undertook a vow of mystical marriage with Christ, which lasted long after her husband's death. In 1680 she came under the direction of Père la Combe of the Barnabite order, with whom she preached and spoke of her visions and revelations. Several times she was imprisoned for heresy, before being released in 1703. Her teachings remain inspiring and controversial – rooted in a profound God-centered attitude of self-surrender (often termed "quietist") – very much in the tradition of female mystics of the Church.

Two of Madame Guyon's essential writings on mystical experience and union with God.

This is a 19th century volume entitled Spiritual Progress: Instructions in the Divine Life of the Soul, and contains material written by Francois Fenelon and Madame Guyon. Fenelon (1651-1715) was an eminent Catholic theologian whose spirituality and mysticism was much more orthodox than that of Guyon. After her first confinement in Paris (1688), Madame Guyon came into contact with Fenelon at St. Cyr, and the two began an exchange of religious ideas and letters. This volume includes Christian Counsel (extracts from Fenelon's Avis Chretiens), and his "Spiritual Letters" – 40 letters on a variety of theological and spiritual topics. Guyon's Method of Prayer and The Way to God both describe by degrees of experience how union with God is realized. Also included are Spiritual Maxims, attributed to Madame Guyon's spiritual teacher Père Lacombe.

Inspirational & Devotional

Guyon and Fenelon