Wounds of Love: The Mystical Marriage of Saint Rose of Lima

by Frank Graziano

The Peruvian mystic St. Rose of Lima (Isabel Flores y Oliva, 1586-1617) was canonized in 1671 as the first saint of the New World and remains the object of widespread devotion today. In this engrossing new study, Frank Graziano uses the example of St. Rose to explore the meaning of female mysticism and the way in which saints are products of their cultures.
Virginity, austerity, eucharistic devotion, incessant mortification, and mystical marriage to Christ characterized the devotional regimen that structured St. Rose's entire life. Many of her mystical practices echo the symptoms of such modern psychological disorders as masochism, depression, hysteria, and anorexia nervosa. Graziano offers a sophisticated argument not only for the origins and meaning of these behaviors in Rose's case, but also for the reason her culture venerated them as signs of sanctity. In the process he explores a wide range of themes, from the idea of suffering as an expression of love to the assimilation of childhood trauma through religious repetition.
Graziano also offers a penetrating analysis of the politics of Rose's canonization. He finds that her mystical union with God--bypassing the institutional channels of sacrament and priestly mediation--was inherently subversive to the bureaucratized Church. Canonization was a cooptation by which Rose's competing claim to Christ was integrated into the Catholic canon.
The book concludes with a fascinating exploration of mystical eroticism, with its intense experiences of vision and ecstasy. The eroticized suffering of many mystics is shown to be very human in origin: the mystic's wounded love is projected onto a God conceived to accommodate it.
Wounds of Love is based on a decade of research in archives, rare books, and an extraordinary range of secondary sources. Introducing an innovative method that integrates history, cultural studies, psychoanalysis, and clinical psychology, this compelling work offers a bold new interpretation of female mysticism.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195136403
• ISBN13: 9780195136401
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The Fundamental Things Apply

Individuals who injure themselves have existed throughout history. This fascinating case study shows the historical context of this perplexing behavior. Saint Rose of Lima explained her self-inflicted suffering with the values of 16th-century South America the way an anorexic today draws on current values. Why do self-injurers win social approval and subtle encouragement? Rose's huge popularity during her lifetime and ever since is brilliantly explained here based on extensive original research. This tale brings true insight into the human psyche in any time period.

Saints and Insanity

This remarkable book is the result of impeccable research combined with a strong command of interpretive theories. The chapters on the psychology of mysticism are incredible. Highly recommended for anyone interested in female mysticism, the psychology of religion, and colonial Latin America.

A Major Work

In this innovative study, St. Rose of Lima provides a focus for the broader exploration of themes in medieval and early-modern mysticism. The politics of canonization, the textual construction of saints, and mystical marriage are all treated with insight and precision. The discussion is profoundly interdisciplinary, combining the methods of history, cultural studies, and psychology to elucidate how saints are formed by their cultures. This book is a major and extraordinary accomplishment.

Excellent!

Excellent- sets a new standard for the scholarship on saints and mystics. Provocative, clearly reasoned, and beautifully written.