"An enlightened power of reason and a love common to all"

John Ruusbroec (1293-1381) is one of the greatest of the Christian mystics. His masterpiece, The Spiritual Espousals (sometimes translated as The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage) in my opinion belongs on the short list of “must read” classics of western mysticism.

Here is just a taste of the poetic breadth of his wisdom. At one point in the book he w…