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The Congregation of Windesheim and the English Convent
One of the most characteristic works of the Modern Devotion movement is *The Imitation of Christ* by Thomas à Kempis. This work consists of four treatises and takes the reader on a journey: first towards detachment, then towards an intimate conversation with Christ as with a friend, then towards participating in his self-giving (through the Eucharist), and thus ultimately towards the mystical experience of His gracious presence. Ultimately, it is about following Christ in daily life.
The Congregation of Windesheim was founded in 1387 when six Brothers took their vows as Canons Regular on the 17th of October. Windesheim means ‘House of the Wind’. The congregation arose from the Modern Devotion movement and adopted the Rule of St Augustine.
Around 1381, Geert Grote visited the Flemish mystic Jan van Ruusbroec in the Sonian Forest. The community that arose there later joined the Congregation of Windesheim. The sisters of the English Convent learnt from Ruusbroec that love is ‘inner and outer’, meaning that one must journey to the deepest core of one’s being to encounter Love there and then carry it out into the world.
The Congregation of Windesheim was founded in 1387 when six Brothers took their vows as Canons Regular on the 17th of October. Windesheim means ‘House of the Wind’. The congregation arose from the Modern Devotion movement and adopted the Rule of St Augustine.
Around 1381, Geert Grote visited the Flemish mystic Jan van Ruusbroec in the Sonian Forest. The community that arose there later joined the Congregation of Windesheim. The sisters of the English Convent learnt from Ruusbroec that love is ‘inner and outer’, meaning that one must journey to the deepest core of one’s being to encounter Love there and then carry it out into the world.