BERNARD MCGINN is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor Emeritus of Historical Theology and the History of Christianity in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. An internationally respected theologian and scholar of spirituality and the history of Christian thought, he has lectured widely and written extensively in the areas of spirituality and mysticism. His major work is the series entitled The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism.