Aspiring Mystic
Life of a Mystic
Confronted with the deepest desires of the heart we have three options: to be a stoic, an addict or an aspiring mystic. I wont settle for less; I want God, I want to be an aspiring mystic; someone who realizes I have a built-in desire for infinite beauty, truth and goodness, a desire for God. This desire can’t be repressed nor can it be satisfied by the things of this world alone. If you want your desire for the infinite fulfilled by God and you are willing to do something about it and persevere, then you too are an aspiring mystic. St. Augustine said: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
So what does an aspiring mystic do? First habit of an aspiring mystic: become more and more aware that God is not out there in the distance looking down on us. No. By grace and baptism, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in your soul as in a temple or an interior castle. Again St. Augustine writes: Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you, they would not have been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace.
Friendship and Prayer
Second habit of an aspiring mystic: turn to God dwelling in our soul and speak to him as one friend speaks to another. “Mental prayer in my opinion,” says Teresa of Avila, “is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” Jesus said to St Faustina: “Talk to me simply as a friend to a friend.”
A Way to Pray
Third - we don’t just want to speak to God – we want to listen to him. By listening we mean the prayer of meditation. The Great Teresa gives us a very simple method of meditation
Read some meditation from Scripture, Tradition or the Magisterium
As soon as something strikes you – stop reading
Reflect or Think about what struck you
· Try to Understand the passage; observe what is going on or being said and ask questions.
· Relate or apply it to your life
· Draw conclusions that fit your life
· Talk over all of this with Jesus in your mind and heart
Repose or Rest in the idea that struck you (Affective Prayer)
· Teresa of Avila said: Meditation consists not so much in thinking a great deal but in loving a great deal. Learn to be ok with sitting still without reading, talking, or trying to figure things out – Just be with God.
· John of the Cross describes this as “An inclination to remain alone and in quietude…If those in whom this occurs, know how to remain quiet (not talking or trying to figure things out) they will soon in that unconcern and idleness delicately experience the inflow of God or Contemplation.” For contemplation is nothing but a hidden, peaceful and loving inflow of God. If it is given room, it will inflame the spirit with love.”
Form a Resolution: Choose something practical and concrete to remember or to do today based on your meditation
All In
Setting aside time for prayer is essential; but prayer is not the whole reality of being a mystic
1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul says: Whatever you eat, whatever you drink, whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God.
Every day mysticism consists in doing the will of God at each moment:
Get up on time; pray; fulfill your work and responsibilities with excellence and for the love of God; foster deep friendships, exercise, get outside, create, build, laugh, cry, enjoy beauty, learn, have a nice glass of wine (I prefer brandy) and see in all the stuff you are doing the will of God and reaching union with him through His will.
Listen and Act
Now, I can’t assume and you can’t assume everything you are doing is the will of God. So ask him: Lord, is this what you want me to do? Then listen in the silence of your heart and your conscience will begin to tell you. Ask the Lord if this way or that way is the way He wants you to spend your time. Is this entertainment leading you closer to him or is it just a consumption of pleasure, a distraction, or an escape. Is your busyness and activity really fulfilling your deepest desire? These are the things we take to the Lord, we ask him, we listen, then we respond with honesty and courage. His will results in true and lasting happiness, but remember, most of us have been addicts for a long time.