Evelyn Underhill: Mother of The Modern Mystics
Artist Profile Series 40
Who was Evelyn Underhill, and why does her work continue to shape the modern contemplative movement more than a century later?
In this Artist Profile episode of Makers & Mystics, Stephen Roach explores the life of Evelyn Underhill, writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and one of the most influential voices on Christian mysticism in the twentieth century.
Although she is often remembered for her landmark book Mysticism, Underhill's own spiritual journey was anything but straightforward. From youthful encounters with transcendent beauty to explorations of the occult, philosophy, and Roman Catholicism, her search eventually led her into the Anglican tradition, where she discovered that mystical experience finds its deepest fulfillment not in extraordinary visions but in the ordinary rhythms of worship, sacrament, and life with Christ.
In an age captivated by spirituality yet often disconnected from historic faith, Evelyn Underhill's life reminds us that the deepest longing of the human heart is not simply for transcendent experiences, but for communion with the living God.
In This Episode
The surprising spiritual journey that shaped Evelyn Underhill's life
How Mysticism became one of the defining books on Christian contemplation
Why Underhill believed mystical experience should be part of ordinary Christian life
Her friendship with Baron Friedrich von Hügel and its profound influence
The relationship between artists, beauty, and the contemplative life
Why her final book, Worship, marked the culmination of her life's work
What her story offers Christians, artists, and seekers today
Notable Quotes
"The mystic is called to be a creative artist of the highest kind."
"Beauty is simply Reality seen with the eyes of love."
"Long before we begin searching for God, God has already begun searching for us."
Books Mentioned
Mysticism: A Study in the Nature and Development of Man's Spiritual Consciousness — Evelyn Underhill
Practical Mysticism — Evelyn Underhill
Worship — Evelyn Underhill
Confessions — Augustine of Hippo
Dark Night of the Soul — St. John of the Cross
People Mentioned
Baron Friedrich von Hügel
T. S. Eliot
Julian of Norwich
St. John of the Cross
William Blake
Augustine of Hippo
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