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On the 30 March 1992 Damian Byrne, the former Master of the Dominican Order, wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger:
The Order of St. Dominic has obviously a very direct interest in Meister Eckhart’s life, works and reputation. This is why the General Chapter of 1980 welcomed one petition concerning the great theologian and mystic. It originated in Great Britain from a group of Dominican laity and friends of the Order in that country headed by the late Mrs. Ursula Fleming who founded the association, Friends of Meister Eckhart.
If today the fundamental innocence and theological integrity of Meister Eckhart are generally acknowledged, both within and outside the Dominican Order, this is due in no small measure to the efforts of people like Ursula. Today, when we read Eckhart’s work it is not with an inquisitorial gaze or scrutiny—rather, we ourselves feel we are under his gaze, his quiet scrutiny. Eckhart comes towards us almost as if he were one of our own contemporaries and as a master among them. We do not put him to the test, rather his words—ancient words, yet eloquently new in their serenity and freshness—probe and test us.
Needless to say there are still many difficulties that remain. But our questions today—my own questions at any rate—are not those bom of suspicion or fear, rather they are the questions of one interested reader, even a sort of disciple, who finds himself gripped and fascinated by what Eckhart is saying, but also sometimes confused and even bewildered by the extraordinary depth and range and daring of the master’s teaching.
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References
This article was originally delivered as a paper at the Eckhart Society Conference, Plater College, Oxford, 28 August 1992.
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10 Ibid. p. 82.
11 Sermon 4, Walshe, p. 43 (DP 59).
12 Sermon 71 in McGinn, Bernard, Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher (New York 1986) p. 323Google Scholar (DW 71).
13 Sermon 96, Walshe, p. 332 (DW 83).
14 Sermon 62, Walshe, p. 115 (DW 82).
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50 Sermon 42, Walshe, p. 294 (DW 69).
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63 Ibid.
64 Sermon 71, McGinn, Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher, p. 323 (DW71).
65 Sermon 14, McGinn, Meister Eckhart: Teacher and Preacher, p. 272 (DW 14).
66 Sermon 22 in McGinn, Meister Eckhart: Essential Sermons… p. 195 (DW 22).
67 ibid.