Emily and the Mystagogue
A Journey to an Erotic Eucharist

In the form of a fictional correspondence, this work considers the writings of modern thinkers on gender and sexuality such as Freud, Jung, Foucault, Giddens, and de Beauvoir, along with concepts derived from early Christian groups and mystics with both Christian and non-Christian backgrounds.

In the form of a fictional correspondence, a priest, Michael, and a young woman, Emily Anderson, consider the writings of modern thinkers on gender and sexuality such as Freud, Jung, Foucault, Giddens, and de Beauvoir, along with concepts derived from early Christian groups and mystics with both Christian and non-Christian backgrounds. Step by step, the material is given to appreciate firstly, the way in which the Eucharistic ritual as it is currently performed may fail to evoke the full potency of the symbolism it embodies, and secondly, how this failing may be remedied. Though the correspondence takes place in the present day, the setting of the 'publication' of the letters is 2020 CE, following a period of great change in the Catholic Church. At this time, Emily, who has been persuaded by the letters to seek ordination, is about to accept the post of priest in Kirkby, a small workingclass town on Merseyside. It is her intention to gently steer her new congregation 'towards a realisation of its own erotic soul'.