Practical Christian Mysticism

In light of the upcoming holidays, (Halloween, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day), I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the nature of death and how it applies to Christian mysticism.  The dead and departed has been one of the areas in my thinking which has undergone the most change since entering the Catholic Church.   It has not changed much from a doctrinal or theological perspective, but rather from the perspective of awareness.  Where I once divided my world view into the world of the living and the afterlife, I now realize the present life and the afterlife are intertwined within the Body of Christ. Continue Reading »

“The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” - Wilhelm Stekel

Social change almost always comes from the young.  Born into a world not of their own making, it is natural and healthy for the young generation to question the traditions and ways of the older generation.  This tendency of the young to question the world is a built-in method of protection and renewal in society.  If not for this mechanism, society would deteriorate like an unattended garden.  However, this mechanism is also to blame for many of the wars and social schisms throughout history.  I write this article to the young, and young at heart, who wish to see change in the world around them.  Reform may take years to grow, but revolution can draw blood in a day. Continue Reading »

“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thes. 5:16-18

When Paul wrote the words “Pray without ceasing”, he opened up a Pandora’s box of misunderstanding for the overzealous and obsessive-compulsive types that endures to this very day. Indeed this passage seems to fall into two opposite pendulum swings of interpretation. On the one-hand, there are a few who actually attempt some sort of incessant repetition throughout their day, and then the greater majority who just chalk it up to hyperbole and just give up all together. The truth is that prayer without cessation is truly blessed discipline that enriches our lives, and is surprisingly not so difficult to carry out. Continue Reading »

As a mystic, I try to practice caution around areas of private revelation. I usually avoid talking about things I learn solely through personal experience. However, I have been so blessed by my more recent discoveries concerning Grace, that I felt compelled to write about it. My Dad says, “For those who truly believe in God, the evidence of His presence is everywhere. For those who don’t believe, they live in a world with no God.” The subtlety of God’s providence is such that we can easily turn a blind eye. To those to take the time to pay (pray) attention, God’s Grace is so abundant in our everyday lives it is humiliating to think what we would do without Him.

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The Catholic Church has become the center of attention aggression in the global discussion of, not just abortion, but birth control.  To stand against birth control isn’t just unpopular in the secular world but also amongst modern day Christians and even many Catholics themselves. Considering the arguably more urgent concerns such as abortion, genetic engineering, and embryonic stem cells, birth control seems trivial by comparison.  The stance against birth control seems futile, not because it is a petty concern, but because we have already lost so much.  As the other boundaries of the sacred womb fall, what we are really loosing is our own humanity. Continue Reading »

The most common abuse of religion is the lost mysticism of the weekday. Until we reach spiritual awakening, and learn to walk with God, we tend to confine all our spiritual life to just one day a week. I know what your thinking, “yeah yeah, I know I need to learn to live a good life the whole week”, but I want to speak of something more. The truth is that the average weekday can become a continual religious experience for those who open their eyes.

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Angels and demons pop-up every now and then in modern culture. People always have a fascination with what lies “across the veil” of our current reality. It’s hard because we know enough to know there is something there… but we don’t much more than that. Cult groups, pop-fiction novels, and celebrity psychics (psychos?) come around now and again to provide us tid-bits of lore and pique our interests. The real reality is that things are “across the veil” for a reason, and while it is tempting to try, they are best left there. I call this “mystic humility”, and it can save your sanity. Continue Reading »

I was enjoying a weekend watching the recently released Animaniacs series on DVD with my own kids, when I started pondering the sad state of contemporary children’s television. There is a real quality that old classics like Looney Tunes had that seems to have been lost as time goes on. I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I see the culture very young children have developed recently, and I realize there is a great virtue being lost in today’s world… silliness.

Animaniacs was a unique flash-back to classic Looney Tunes style cartoons, which is why I bought it for my own kids. One of the best parts about Animanacs and Looney Tunes is they appeal to both kids and adults. There is are a lot of jokes in those cartoons only adults can get, and others only kids can laugh at. I love watching old cartoons I as an adult finding new jokes I couldn’t catch as a child. I also enjoy seeing what my kids will laugh at.

Children are being forced to grow up faster and faster… well, let me rephrase that. Children are being forced to give up their innocence sooner and sooner. The reason I make that distinction is because children aren’t really “growing up” fast at all these days. An eighteen year-old these days is much less equipped for life than an eighteen year-old fifty years ago. It is the fun and innocence of childhood itself we are losing.

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“Think Positive”: the battle cry of the modern self-help culture. Of course, it makes sense considering the alternative “Think Negative”, but are those really our only two options? The truth is, despite our ever growing feelings of depression and hopelessness, the secrets to a fulfilling life lie far deeper than the mere pursuit of happiness.

Positive thinking is a fad, nothing more. It just pops up every 10 years or so. Every positive thinking book and philosophy is based on some small grains of truth and wisdom, and because we are starving souls, we eat them up like a dog in ecstasy over the fallen scraps on the floor. Sadly, those shallow philosophies work much like the fad-diet offering fast and visible results up front but ultimately proving useless as a permanent solution to life’s problems. Continue Reading »