Maria Maddalena De' Pazzi: Selected Revelations

By Maria De' Pazzi, Armando Maggi, Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi

Book Overview

In one of the only English translations available, here are the mystical visions of Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi (1566-1606), one of the most original woman mystics of the Renaissance. However, until now she has curiously been neglected by scholars of Christian history and Italian literature alike. Editor and translator Armando Maggi rectifies this in an utterly fascinating volume of the Classics of Western Spirituality(TM). Soon after entering a convent in Florence, where she spent all of her adult years in strict enclosure, Maria Maddalena experienced visions in which she spoke to the Trinity, in particular to Christ. She did not intend to communicate these to an outside audience, and they were transcribed by her fellow nuns. Maggi offers readers here a selection from the whole corpus of Maria Maddalena's visions as contained in the manuscripts The Forty Days, The Dialogues, Revelations and Knowledge and The Probations. Unlike most other mystical works in the Western tradition Maria Maddalena's visions have a distinctly oral nature. Maria Maddalena's mysticism lies in her interpretation of oral language. She believed that God wanted her to speak his being, i.e., to utter his being through her voice. The transcriptions of her visions, in all their disorder, theatricality and passion, offer a gripping experience of Christian spirituality. Historians and theologians, especially of the Renaissance, will welcome this outstanding contribution to literature on mysticism and spirituality. +

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809139235
• ISBN13: 9780809139231
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Paulist Press
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Mystical Experiences of Carmelite Nun 16th Century

The introduction and translation of Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi mystical experiences was very good. The work is probably not for the masses, the other sisters in the convent captured what she said and her physical movments. The translator left the Latin intact as the notes of the sisters showed Maria Maddalena spoke in Latin while in her trances. The modern reader would probably question of the Nun's sanity: Forty hours of continuous ecstasy except for moments to eat and attend to bodily functions. Paulist Press continues to bring a variety of western classics to the modern world. If you want to get an idea of European Catholic religious thought in the 16th Century this is a good book to help you do that.