The blessed John of Ruysbroeck.

The Blessed John of Ruysbroeck (Dutch: Jan van Ruusbroec) (1293 or 1294, Ruisbroek – December 2, 1381, Groenendaal) was one of the Flemish mystics. In Catholicism, beatification (from Latin beatus, blessed, via Greek μακαριος, makarios) is a recognition accorded by the church of a dead persons accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name (intercession of saints). ... Events May 20 - King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcala The Minoresses (Franciscan nuns) are first introduced into England Births Deaths Categories: 1293 ... For broader historical context, see 1290s and 13th century. ... Sint-Pieters-Leeuw is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events June 12 - Peasants Revolt: In England rebels arrive at Blackheath. ... Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming)) has two main designations: a geographical region in the north of Belgium, corresponding to the Flemish region, a constituent part of the federal Belgian state. ... The Flammarion Woodcut can be taken to illustrate the Gnostics mystical search for spiritual worlds by circumventing the constraints of materialism. ...

Life

Until his ordination

John had a devout mother, who brought him up in the Catholic faith; of his father we know nothing. John's surname Van Ruusbroec is not a surname in the modern sense but a toponym that refers to his native hamlet, modern-day Ruisbroek near Brussels (compare John of Salisbury or Democritus of Abdera). At the age of eleven he left his mother, departing without leave or warning, to place himself under the guidance and tuition of his uncle, Jan Hinckaert, a canon of St. Gudule's, Brussels, who with a fellow-canon, Francis van Coudenberg, was living according to his Apostolic views. This uncle provided for Ruysbroeck's education with a view to the priesthood. In due course, John was presented with a prebend in St. Gudule's church, and ordained in 1317. His mother had followed him to Brussels, entered a Béguinage there, and died shortly before his ordination. Look up mother in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... A family name, or surname, is that part of a persons name that indicates to what family he or she belongs. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A hamlet is (usually — see below) a small settlement, too small or unimportant to be considered a village. ... Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Brussels City Hall Emblem of the Brussels-Capital Region Flag of The City of Brussels Brussels (Dutch: Brussel, pronounced ; French: Bruxelles, pronounced in Belgian French and often by non-Belgian speakers of French; German: Brüssel) is the capital of Belgium, the... John of Salisbury (c. ... Tuition means instruction, teaching or a fee charged for educational instruction especially at a formal institution of learning. ... Uncle may refer to: A family relationship, see Cousin chart A cry of surrender An idiom: Dutch uncle, a person who delivers stern lectures Uncle Sam, a national personification of the United States Uncle Tom, a pejorative term for a black person Uncle Tom Cobley, a British folk saying meaning... A canon (from the Latin canonicus and Greek κανωνικωσ relating to a rule) is a priest who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to a rule (canon). ... Saint Gudula of Brussels and Eibingen (also known as Goule; Latin Gudula, Dutch: Sinte Goedele, French Sainte Gudule) was born in Brabant, in present-day Belgium, of Witger and Amalberga, in the seventh century. ... Alternate meaning: See Apostle (Mormonism) The Christian Apostles were Jewish men chosen from among the disciples, who were sent forth (as indicated by the Greek word απόστολος apostolos= messenger), by Jesus to preach the Gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, across the world. ... A priesthood is a body of priests, shamans, or oracles who are thought to have special religious authority or function. ... A prebendary is a post connected to a cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. ... St. ... Events The Great Famine of 1315-1317. ... Beguines are lay sisterhoods made up of women who devote themselves to a life of religion without taking monastic vows. ... Ordination is the process in which clergy become authorized by their religious denomination and/or seminary to perform religious rituals and ceremonies. ...

Priest in Brussels

For twenty-six years Ruysbroeck continued to lead, together with his uncle Hinckaert and Van Coudenberg, a life of extreme austerity and retirement. At that time the Brethren of the Free Spirit were causing controversy in the Netherlands and one of them, a woman named Bloemardinne, was particularly active in Brussels, propagating her beliefs chiefly by means of popular pamphlets. Ruysbroeck responded with pamphlets also written in the native tongue (Dutch). Nothing of these treatises remains. The controversy had a permanent effect on Ruysbroeck: his later writings bear constant reference, direct and indirect, to the 'heretical' views expressed in these times, and he always wrote in the country's native language, chiefly with a view to counteracting these writings which he viewed as heretical. The Brethren of the Free Spirit (Brüder und Schwestern des Freien Geistes) was a medieval heretical pantheistic movement. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ...

Priest in Groenendaal

The desire for a more retired life, and possibly also the persecution which followed Ruysbroeck's attack on Bloemardinne, induced the three friends to quit Brussels in 1343 for the hermitage of Groenendaal, in the neighbouring Sonian Forest, which was made over to them by John III, Duke of Brabant. Events Magnus II of Sweden abdicates from the throne of Norway in favor of his son Haakon VI of Norway. ... The Forest of Soignes or Sonian Forest (French: Forêt de Soignes, Dutch: Zoniënwoud) is a 43 km² forest on the southeast of Brussels, Belgium, which stretches out over the three regions of Belgium, the Brussels-Capital Region (38 %), the Flemish Region (56 %) and the Walloon Region (6 %). The... Jan III van Brabant, also called John III the Triumphantor, was born in 1300 and died in Brussels on December 5, 1355. ...

But here so many disciples joined the little company that it was found expedient to organize into a duly-authorized religious body. The hermitage was erected into a community of canons regular on March 13, 1349, and eventually it became the motherhouse of a congregation, which bore its name of Groenendaal. Francis van Coudenberg was appointed first provost, and Blessed John Ruysbroeck prior. Hinckaert refrained from making the canonical profession lest the discipline of the house should suffer from the exemptions required by the infirmities of his old age; he dwelt, therefore, in a cell outside the cloister and there a few years later died. March 13 is the 72nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (73rd in leap years). ... // Events January 9 - The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland is rounded up and incinerated, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing bubonic plague. ... A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches. ... Prior is a Latin adjective, meaning coming before, as earlier (as in a priori, regardless what comes next). ... Cloister of Saint Trophimus, in Arles, France A cloister (from latin claustrum) is part of cathedrals and abbeys architecture. ...

This period, from his religious profession (1349) to his death (1381), was the most active and fruitful of Ruysbroeck's career. His fame as a man of God, as a sublime contemplative and a skilled director of souls, spread beyond the bounds of Flanders and Brabant to Holland, Germany, and France. All sorts and conditions of men sought his aid and counsel. His writings were eagerly caught up and rapidly multiplied, especially in the cloisters of the Netherlands and Germany; early in the fifteenth century they are to be found also in England. Among the more famous visitors to Groenendaal mention is made of Tauler, but though the German preacher certainly knew and appreciated his writings, it is not established that he ever actually saw Ruysbroeck. Gerard Groote in particular venerated him as a father and loved him as a friend. And through Groote, Ruysbroeck's influence helped to mould the spirit of the Windesheim School, which in the next generation found its most famous exponent in Thomas a Kempis. Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, one of the manifestations of the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article deals with the historical county of Flanders, for present-day Flanders see Flanders The geographical region and former county of Flanders contains not only the two Belgian provinces but also the present-day French département of Nord, in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking... Brabant is a former duchy in the Low Countries, and a former province of Belgium. ... Holland is a region in the central-western part of the Netherlands. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid... The Brethren of the Common Life was a religious community founded in the 14th century by Geert Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion. ... Thomas à Kempis (1380 - 1471) was a medieval Christian monk and author of Imitation of Christ, one of the most well-known Christian books on devotion. ...

After death

John's relics were carefully preserved and his memory honoured as that of a saint. When Groenendaal Priory was suppressed by Joseph II in 1783, his relics were transferred to St. Gudule's, Brussels, where, however, they were lost during the French Revolution. John was beatified on December 1, 1908, by Pope St. Pius X. A relic is an object, especially a piece of the body or a personal item of someone of religious significance, carefully preserved with an air of veneration as a tangible memorial, Relics are an important aspect of Buddhism, some denominations of Christianity, Hinduism, shamanism, and many other personal belief systems. ... A saint is, broadly defined, a holy person. ... Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Liberty Leading the People, a painting by Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 but which has come to be generally accepted as symbolic of French popular uprisings against the monarchy in general and the French Revolution in particular. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the head of the Roman Catholic Church. ... Pope Pius X (1903-1914), pictured in 1904, wearing the 1834 Triple Tiara of Pope Gregory XVI Saint Pius X, né Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, (2 June 1835 - 20 August 1914) was Pope from 1903 to 1914, succeeding Pope Leo XIII. He was the first pope since the Counter-Reformation Pope...

No authentic portrait of John is known to exist; but the traditional picture represents him in the canonical habit, seated in the forest with his writing tablet on his knee, as he was in fact found one day by the brethren—rapt in ecstasy and enveloped in flames, which encircle without consuming the tree under which he is resting. It has been suggested that Portrait painting be merged into this article or section. ...

After his death, stories called him the Ecstatic Doctor or Divine Doctor, and his views formed a link between the Friends of God and the Brothers of the Common Life, the ideas which may have helped to bring about the Reformation. The Friends of God (German: Gottesfreunde) was a Middle Age lay mystical group (though it was never an organized sect) and a center of German mysticism. ... The Brethren of the Common Life was a religious community founded in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion. ...

Works and philosophy

Of Ruysbroeck's works, the treatise The Seven Steps of the Ladder of Spiritual Love is the one that is currently most-readily available. Of the various treatises preserved, the best-known and the most characteristic is that entitled The Spiritual Espousals. It is divided into three books, treating respectively of the active, the interior, and the contemplative life.

Literally, Ruysbroeck wrote as the spirit moved him. He loved to wander and meditate in the solitude of the forest adjoining the cloister; he was accustomed to carry a tablet with him, and on this to jot down his thoughts as he felt inspired so to do. Late in life he was able to declare that he had never committed aught to writing save by the motion of the Holy Ghost. In telecommunication, wander are long-term random variations of the significant instants of a digital signal from their ideal positions. ... A large statue in Bangalore depicting Shiva meditating Meditation is the practice of focusing the mind, often formalized into a specific routine. ... The Holy Spirit, from the Christian viewpoint, while related to Gods will, is not Gods will personified. ...

In none of his treatises do we find anything like a complete or detailed account of his system; perhaps, it would be correct to say that he himself was not conscious of elaborating any system. In his dogmatic writings he explains, illustrates, and enforces traditional teachings with remarkable force and lucidity. In his ascetic works, his favourite virtues are detachment, humility and charity; he loves to dwell on such themes as flight from the world, meditation upon the Life, especially the Passion of Christ, abandonment to the Divine Will, and an intense personal love of God. An ascetic is one who practices a renunciation of worldly pursuits to achieve spiritual attainment. ... A detachment is a military unit that is a permanent separate unit smaller than a company, such as a Medical Detachment. ... Humility is the state of being humble. ... Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck Charity, meaning selfless giving, is one conventional English translation of the Greek term agapē. // Etymology In the 1400, charity meant the state of love or simple affection which one was in or out of regarding one... The Passion is the technical term for the suffering and Agony of Jesus that led directly to the Crucifixion, a central Christian event. ... The Chinese character for love —its parts indicating (top to bottom): That which gives breath (ie. ...

In common with most of the German mystics Ruysbroeck starts from God and comes down to man, and thence rises again to God, showing how the two are so closely united as to become one. But here he is careful to protest: "There where I assert that we are one in God, I must be understood in this sense that we are one in love, not in essence and nature." Despite this declaration, however, and other similar saving clauses scattered over his pages, some of Ruysbroeck's expressions are certainly rather unusual and startling. The sublimity of his subject-matter was such that it could scarcely be otherwise. His devoted friend, Gerard Groote, a trained theologian, confessed to a feeling of uneasiness over certain of his phrases and passages, and begged him to change or modify them for the sake at least of the weak. Later on, Jean Gerson and then Bossuet both professed to find traces of unconscious pantheism in his works. But as an offset we may mention the enthusiastic commendations of his contemporaries, Groote, Tauler, a Kempis, Scoenhoven, and in subsequent times of the Franciscan van Herp, the Carthusian Denys and Surius, the Carmelite Thomas of Jesus, the Benedictine Louis de Blois, and the Jesuit Lessius. In our own days Ernest Hello and especially Maeterlinck have done much to make his writings known and even popular. And at present, particularly since his beatification, there is a strong revival of interest in all that concerns Ruysbroeck in his native Flanders. Jean de Gerson Jean Charlier de Gerson (December 14, 1363 – July 12, 1429), French scholar and divine, chancellor of the university of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and the one of most the prominent theologians at the Council of Constance, was born at the village of Gerson... Jacques_Benigne Bossuet (September 27, 1627 - April 12, 1704) was a French bishop, theologian, and court preacher. ... Pantheism (Greek: pan = all and Theos = God) literally means God is All and All is God. It is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent God; or that the universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. ... The Order of Friars Minor and other Franciscan movements are disciples of Saint Francis of Assisi. ... A Carthusian Monastery in Jerez, Spain The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. ... Origin and early history Carmelites (in Latin Ordo fratrum Beatæ Virginis Mariæ de monte Carmelo) is the name of a Roman Catholic order founded in the 12th century by a certain Berthold (d. ... A Benedictine is a person who follows the Rule of St Benedict. ... The Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu (S.I. or S.J.) in Latin) is a Christian religious order of the Roman Catholic Church in direct service to the Pope. ... Leonardus Lessius, or Leys, Flemish moral theologian, was born in Brecht, near Antwerp, now in Belgium, in 1554. ... Flanders (Flemish, Fleming) (Dutch: Vlaanderen (Vlaams, Vlaming)) has two main designations: a geographical region in the north of Belgium, corresponding to the Flemish region, a constituent part of the federal Belgian state. ...

Ruysbroeck insisted that the soul finds God in its own depths, and noted three stages of progress in what he called the spiritual ladder of Christian attainment: (1) the active life, (2) the inward life, (3) the contemplative life. He did not teach the fusion of the self in God, but held that at the summit of the ascent the soul still preserves its identity. His works, of which the, most important were De vera contemplatione and De septem gradibus amoris, were published in 1848 at Hanover; also Reflections from the Mirror of a Mystic (1906) and Die Zierde der geistlichen Hochzeit (1901). The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hanover (German: Hannover []), on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

External links and references

• Article from the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (unedited OCR scan; scroll to bottom of page for start of article)
• Translations of "The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage", "The Sparkling Stone", and "The Book of the Supreme Truth"
• Translation of "The Book of the Supreme Truth"
• Translation of "The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage"
• This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia.