Meister Eckhart’s Art of Preaching Scholastic Subtleties: The Sermon ‘Ave gratia plena’ (DW No. 22, Walshe No. 53)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Whether it is the essence or the fatherhood of God that begets the eternal Son is a question of some complexity. Eckhart discusses the problem in his Latin treatises, and argues in favour of the Father's essence as the principle of begetting the Son. He does not consider this subtleness as one of the ‘matters discussed in the schools, but’ – as he says – ‘they can well be spoken of from the pulpit as doctrine’. This doctrine, applied to the birth of God's Son in the human soul, becomes the focus of the sermon ‘Ave gratia plena’. Significantly for his preaching style, he does not treat this highly intellectual subject with abstract argumentation. Instead he chooses an elaborate composition and presents his thoughts in an extraordinarily metaphoric and poetic manner.