Just announcing here the publication today of a lecture I presented to our SpiritLife classes years ago on the quietist backlash. These were recorded in audio, with accompanying handouts, but what I have done here is taken my lecture slides and appended the audio to them.

This particular presentation sets forth the teaching of Sts. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila on contemplative prayer, and contrasts them with harmful distortions of their teachings that came later. The consequence of this was a strong distrust of contemplative spirituality that persisted from the 1700s into the 20th C. What's interesting is to note how we might be making some of the same mistakes these days.

One of my resolutions for the year (made with fingers crossed) was to arrange and publish a few of my lectures on YouTube, and this is one I think is most important. There will be others, as time and energy allow.

Much credit goes to Jim Arraj for this material, which you can find on innerexplorations.com in his book, From St. John of the Cross to Us.

Here's the link. It's an hour or so long, but you can watch in segments and pick up where you left off. I hope you find it helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9xICp3W40M