mysticism and the church

the gathered people of God have just left the house. there was was some wonderful revelation happening in our midst. God renewing our minds. mysticism was the hot button. I came across this in my reading

I said I was searching for the roots of Christian mysticism. Now I say unhesitatingly that there are three sources of Christian mystical experience: (1) the Word of God in sacred scripture, (2) the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, and (3) the Word of God in the community called church.

If then you ask for practical advice on how to enter the Christan mystical life, I do not advise you to take the plane to Tel Aviv and the bus to the Judean desert. I do not tell you to travel to Cairo and thento Sinai or to the desert south of Alexandria. I do not tell you to sit in the lotus and breathe from your abdomen. All this is good, very good, but in the end peripheral. Instead I say:

Listen to the word! Read the Scriptures! Read them again and again wiht faith and love until the word comes to life within you, penetrating the deepest layers of your unconscious.

Again, celebrate the Eucharist! Break bread with the community! Be present to the mystery of faith and partake of the bread of life. This will lead you into that rich inner desert of silence and joy where your life lies hidden with Christ in God. This will lead you to say with Paul: "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" Gal 2:20. This will lead you to cry out with Jesus: "Abba, Father!"

Again listen to the community. Be part of the community. Get guidance from the community; Read the mystical literature the community has produced. Never get isolated. Never go out on a limb. Community!

w.Jonston