Bl. Raymond Lull

Mystic, philosopher, and Doctor Illuminatus "Enlightened Doctor," also called Ramon Llull or Lullus. A native of Majorca, Spain, he received a post in the court of King James I of Aragon and was wed and had two children. At about the age of thirty, he underwent a personal conversion through a vision of Christ crucified, and he joined the Third Order of St. Francis. Convinced that his mission was to convert the Muslims, he Studied Arabic and Islamic philosophy and journeyed to North Africa and Asia Minor. However, he failed to win the support of the Holy See and the crowns of Christendom. Nevertheless, to further his knowledge and to gather the approval of the Church and kingdoms, he traveled extensively to Italy, France, Germany, and England and studied ceaselessly Aluminous writer, his chief work was Ars Magna "the Great Art," comprising the treatises Liber de Ascensu de Descensu Intellectus "The Book of the Ascent and Descent of the Intellect," and Arber Scientiae "The Tree of Knowledge." While he had received little training in Scholastic theology, he proved a brilliant theologian While demonstrating a genius in such other fields as alchemy, chemistry, poetry, and philosophy. Raymond was also a profound mystic and is considered a predecessor of Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. There is a generally unsupported tradition that Raymond was stoned to death by Muslims in North Africa.