Mystics, Visionaries, and Prophets: A Historical Anthology of Women’s Spiritual Writings

Winner of Catholic Press Association Book-of-the-Year AwardSpiritualityUnique in its range and depth, this lavish anthology for the first time captures in a single volume the mostnotable spiritual writings of leading women from all periods of Christian history.

Because spirituality involves more than simply prayer and piety, Madigan has selected women whosequests for intimacy with God also involves some visionary experience or social witness. Ranging fromPerpetua in the third century to Mother Teresa and Edwina Gately in this century, her volume includeswritings from both European women and, in the modern period, Asian, American, and African American women. Apart from redressing the heavy gender imbalance of most histories of Christianity, this volumealso provides strong historical introductions to and bibliographies of the twenty-six women whose writings are generously excerpted.

Women included in this volume are:

Perpetua the Martyr

Pelagia the Actress

Brigit of Ireland

Balthild the Queen of Neustria

Dhuoda of Septimania

Hildegard of Bingen

Heloise

Mechthild of Magdeburg

Gertrude the Great

Hadewijch

Julian of Norwich

Catherine of Siena

Margery Kempe

Teresa of Avila

Jane Frances de Chantal

Sojourner Truth

Maria Stewart

Gabrielle Bossis

Dorothy Day

Caryll Houselander

Pauli Murray

Laura Lopez

Silvia Maribel Arriola

Mother Teresa

Cho Wha Soon

Mercy Amba Oduyoye

Edwina Gately