In his insightful series of articles published under the title “Can Hermetic Magic Rescue the Church?,” Dr. Sebastian Morello begins by emphasizing the crucial importance of the mystical dimension of Christianity. In fact, he underscores the need to recover the primacy of this traditional Christian principle, which is—and I will emphasize this as strongly as I can—the very essence of things. It is significant in itself that he feels the need, like other authors, to postulate the primacy of the mystical dimension. This indirectly indicates that mysticism, which is nothing other than the purpose and culmination of the Christian life, has been marginalized to the point of exclusion.
Dr. Morello’s articles inspired me, and encouraged me, to offer my own thoughts on where I think this conversation ought to go, and how we might begin to recover the mystical, Neoplatonic, Patristic theology at the heart of our reception of divine revelation. I believe the greatest interpreter and developer of this theology was in fact St. Bonaventure, the importance of whom I will consider in some detail throughout these essays. For now, it is necessary to state from the outset that this theology is both orthodox and traditionally much loved by the Church. Due to an overly rationalistic reception of Thomism over the past century or so, however, this theology and the mystagogical catechesis by which it is transmitted has been wrongly ‘occulted’ and marginalized; I believe that it is time for its return to the mainstream of Catholic life, as Dr. Morello in his own idiom has argued at length.
To make things as clear as possible, I will quote the most famous Christian mystic author, who left us perhaps the shortest and yet most influential theological treatise ever written. I am referring to Saint Dionysius the Areopagite and his treatise Περὶ μυστικῆς θεολογίας (“Mystical Theology”), which, though not exceeding ten pages of text, has been commented upon in numerous works by the brightest minds of the Christian Tradition (including both Holy Doctors, Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas). Here, then, is the passage that presents the mystical principle and its fulfillment:
This then be my prayer; but thou, O dear Timothy, by thy persistent commerce with the mystic visions, leave behind both sensible perceptions and intellectual efforts, and all objects of sense and intelligence, and all things not being and being, and be raised aloft unknowingly to the union, as far as attainable, with Him Who is above every essence and knowledge. For by the resistless and absolute ecstasy in all purity, from thyself and all, thou wilt be carried on high, to the super-essential ray of the Divine darkness, when thou hast cast away all, and become free from all.
Traditionally identified as the disciple of St. Paul the Apostle, who converted following Paul’s preaching at the Athenian Areopagus (Acts 17:16-34), Dionysius does nothing more than develop the teaching of his apostolic master, who described with simplicity what it means to attain the highest heights of mysticism in the Christian life: “And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me.” (Gal 2:20).
The teaching of Saints Paul and Dionysius regarding union with God does not amount to a kind of Christian ‘nirvāṇa.’ It does not entail at all a sort of ‘melting’ of the ‘self’ or ‘ego’ into a supreme ‘absolute’ and eventually impersonal ‘whole.’ On the contrary, it involves a deep and harmonious union between a created and limited being, endowed with free will, and the supreme, uncreated, absolutely free, and infinite Being, namely God Himself.
The Pole Star
That being said, I will emphasize the mystical principle, highlighting that it is the focal point that guides the entire Christian life, both in its elementary moral dimension, based on the observance of the Ten Commandments, and in terms of all the other aspects involved in responding to God’s call: penance, liturgy, sacraments, and prayer. To put it even more concretely—and perhaps more suggestively—mystical union with God is the axis around which all dimensions of the Christian life revolve, just as the entire celestial vault rotates around the Pole Star.
When the primacy of mysticism is forgotten or ignored, everything collapses, slowly and surely, into chaos. Everything loses its meaning, especially since no mystical experience occurs to confirm the truth of our fragile, daily efforts. And if we do not personally know anyone like the Apostle Paul (who, by the way, was caught up to the third heaven of Paradise; see 2 Corinthians 12:2), or like Dionysius the Areopagite, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, or Padre Pio, who can testify to the reality of the Kingdom of God based on personal experience, how will we maintain the faith and strength necessary to bear our crosses?
In addition to the goal of strengthening the faith of the “little ones,” (i.e., newly converted Christians—Matthew 18:6) mystical experience represents the very foundation of Christian authority. This is because it involves direct knowledge, a ‘face-to-face’ encounter with God. The apostles themselves, when they wanted to reinforce the value of their testimony, would not say, “We are bishops, therefore you must be subject to us.” St. Peter himself never said, “I am the Pope, and you owe me obedience.” What they said can be read in several key places in the sacred texts.
In his first epistle, St. John emphasizes the source of his teaching. Thus, what he tells us in his writings is what he himself saw and heard, knowing God directly:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life: For the life was manifested; and we have seen and do bear witness, and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the Father, and hath appeared to us: That which we have seen and have heard, we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and our fellowship may be with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1-3)
When St. Paul summarizes the essence of Christian teaching in his first letter to the Corinthians, he says that his authority stems from the fact that he faithfully conveys what he himself received. But after that, he highlights that the content of his evangelical message is based on a mystical experience—that implies direct knowledge of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ—which was first had by Peter and the eleven, then by five hundred brethren, and ultimately by Paul himself:
For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures: and that he was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven. Then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time. (1 Cor 15:4-8)
Facing the Sanhedrin, which demanded that they renounce the preaching of the Gospel, Peter and John responded by stating that they cannot be obedient to men, “for we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). Obviously, among “the things” seen by the apostles, in the highest place of honor, is the risen Jesus Christ Himself, who miraculously appeared among them despite the fact that the doors were locked shut (John 20:26-30).
The Apostles saw the Lord Jesus Christ during these supernatural, mystical experiences, and received directly from Him the mandate to preach the Gospel—this was the foundation of their apostolic authority. Note that the apostles tell us that they met and spoke with Jesus Christ not only during His ministry but also afterwards when He appeared to them in the described mystical experiences. It is because of this experience of the Church’s first bishops, the apostles, that St. Dionysius the Areopagite emphasizes that the most important function of any bishop is contemplative, i.e., for him to live a mystical life. So too, one of the most brilliant theologians of the Eastern Roman Empire, St. Maximus the Confessor, calls contemplative, mystical knowledge “apostolic knowledge.” According to his interpretation, undoubtedly influenced by the writings of St. Dionysius, this is the central function of the Church’s hierarchy: to contemplate God, knowing Him in the most profound way possible.
Heaven reminds us
When this essential truth is forgotten, Heaven reminds us: it bestows the charism of mystical, contemplative knowledge upon individuals who do not belong to the sacred hierarchy. The most famous case is probably that of the little visionary children of Fátima: Saints Francisco de Jesus Marto (1908-1919), Jacinta de Jesus Marto (1910-1920), and Lúcia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos (1907-2005). Several centuries before them, in 1531, the Virgin Mary also appeared to a layman: Saint Juan Diego (1474-1548). The significance of the appearance on Juan’s poncho is quite clear: when they saw the image of supernatural origin, Bishop Zumaraga and the other members of his entourage knelt both before the Holy Virgin Mary and before her emissary, the humble Juan Diego. This is a fact meant to make it clear to us who are the ones whom God truly loves and honors: those who know Him (and His mother) directly.
Mystical experiences in the lives of the faithful do not exclude the existence of authority within the Church’s hierarchy. On the contrary, the mystical experience of those who do not belong to it is meant to remind bishops and the Pope of the unique source of the hierarchy: God Himself. And who could better exercise this authority than those who directly know God, “face to face”? However, in the absence of this knowledge, which generally entails heroic asceticism, the authority of Church’s hierarchical positions can be seized and manipulated by individuals acting in the service of evil rather than good. Clearly, this will lead to the collapse of authority.
All that has been said above has only one main objective: to strengthen and emphasize what Dr. Morello already said in the preamble of his three-part essay. Christianity, if it is not oriented according to the mystical imperative, will inevitably experience decline. This decline will be seen first among the members of sacred orders, the priesthood, the episcopacy, and even the papal office itself. All are called to embrace and fulfill this imperative, reminding themselves and reminding us that the ultimate purpose of the baptized is to know God.
The current crisis of faith in the Church is undoubtedly the result of the ‘amnesia’ that has deeply affected the members of the sacred hierarchy. They seem to have forgotten not only that the purpose of the entire Christian life is mystical union with God, but also that their primary purpose is to be the masters and living examples of this life—as was taught by Saints Paul, Dionysius the Areopagite, and Maximus the Confessor.
