Church Matters: Retrieving the Great Tradition

Ses s i on 2: The Med i eva l Chur ch and the Reformat i on 53

2. Over 3,000 mystical works are known to have been written in sixteenth century Spain (i.e., mysticism as a popular movement).

3. Catholic apologists who took the claims of the Reformers head-on with Catholic rebuttals: John Eck, Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), and Peter Canisius (1521-97)

4. Widespread Catholic rejection of Lutheran claims: Lutheran and Reformed challenges sparked genuine reform in Catholic spirituality, governance, and doctrine .

5. Catholic spirituality reaffirmed sacramentally in the Council of Trent (1545) the number of sacraments as seven: baptism, confirmation, holy communion, confession, holy orders, matrimony, and anointing of the sick.

6. Adjustment and reaffirmation of essential Roman Catholic Church theological claims and positions

7. Reformation as having creative and catalytic impact on RCC’s need to correct ongoing errors and abuses

B. Rebirth of the monastic orders, ongoing reforms in theology and practice, and the Council of Trent (1545-63)

1. Dominant Catholic mystics and the rebirth of the monastic orders

a. Teresa of Avila (1515-82)

b. St. John of the Cross (1542-91)