ABSTRACT
Patrick Cooper explores some central themes in the oeuvre of John of Ruusbroec, one of the foremost representatives of the Christian mystical tradition in the West. Reflecting on the theme of the mutual abyss of Psalm 41, Cooper discusses Ruusbroec’s emphasis on the ontological otherness between the Creator and creature, but also how this otherness does not imply any distance between the two. Rather, Cooper argues, Ruusbroec aims to harmoniously synthesize both the “natural” claims of union and “mutual indwelling” with God (in the order of creation) while equally stressing the ontological difference between God and the human person. Cooper goes on to discuss how a Mariological perspective may clarify Ruusbroec’s position, and he further retrieves Ruusbroec’s thought in discussion with a number of contemporary thinkers, such as Jean-Luc Marion and Ferdinand Ulrich.
