Wayne Teasdale, Urban Mystic

Posted by Censor Librorum on Mar 4, 2007 | Categories: Lesbian in a Catholic Sort of Way

I recently discovered Wayne Teasdale. He is one of those people I regret that I will never meet or hear speak in person. He died of cancer in 2004.

Wayne Teasdale was an urban monk, a mystic and teacher at DePaul University, Catholic Theological Union and Columbia College. He did not live in a monastery; he lived in the city, in Chicago. He believed we all have the capacity to be mystics, and to be able to live a contemplative spiritual life in the city, with families, with all the noise and distractions they bring. His book, “A Monk in the World: Cultivating the Spiritual Life” made it to Amazon.com’s Top 10 Religion and Spirituality Books of 2002.

He was interviewed by the editors of U.S. Catholic in the March 2003 issue. Here is his response to the question, “Where do you see the Catholic Church in the future?”
“I see only three options for the church leadership as they face the future. One, look to the past, as many of them want to do, and lose credibility and relevance in the present. Two, react to the present and future challenges, and, again, there will be a reduction of credibility and influence. Or, three, read the signs of the times and create institutions that will be responsive to the new context, which is an interfaith one. Then I think you’ll see a renaissance of Catholicism.”

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