Christian Catholic Mystic Hermit: A Reader Leaves an Errant Comment

 

The more I read of short commentaries such as one today of something Jesus said to Catherine of Siena regarding St. Paul--the holy ones of God yet while on earth did not go on about canon laws or doctrines or rituals or traditions; they wrote of their thoughts and interactions with His Real Presence and His Living Word.

A reader left a comment on one of my blogs, two actually, saying that to be a real hermit one must obey the "Church" in all matters including Canon Law 603 (instituted by humans in 1983), and that a "real" mystic would obey the Church.  I don't think the man even knows that the "Church" is the Body of Christ--all of us who believe in Christ as our Savior and whose task we were given of spreading the Good News, the Gospel and to strive living the one Law of God that is over all laws and one necessary: His Law of Love.  Love God above all things (including the thing the church has become in humankind's minds) and to love others as God loves.  

One must obey God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.  If Church means Christ as Head of His Church, then yes, obey Christ.  If Church has come to mean the temporal Church of centuries of humankind-created canon laws, traditions, rituals, and devotions--one is not obligated to "obey" other than the will of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and His Living Word.

[As a new Catholic and for several years, I had confusion over this "obedience to the Church" and "obedience to a Church bishop, and by falling into the trap of this misconceived obedience, I was deceived in obeying priests who were in mortal sin and grave matter, as it turned out.  I also "obeyed" a bishop and ended up with two costly shoulder surgeries when I had no health insurance (was not insurable so not by my choice being uninsured) because the bishop was ignorant in matters of mysticism and refused to read about mystical phenomenon, so foolish in what it was he wanted me to obey.   I was the fool to have obeyed the man who later I learned had not handled, also, a priest sex crime correctly.  The Psalmist rightly states as also lived the prophets and Christ:  Trust not in men, trust not in princes; trust in the Lord Thy God only.  I know that biographies have been written, as well as diaries published, in which persons stated that Christ or Mary or some canonized saint appeared and told them to obey their superior even if it caused them suffering, but one must be very careful in discerning such visions and locutions.  Obey the Three Persons of the Trinity over error-prone and ignorant humankind; obey His Living Word.  If a spiritual guide is advising what is in the Living Word and what is of Christ, then obey knowing one is obeying His Real Presence and His Living Word--not the person who is advising based upon God's will and His Living Word.  There is a subtle difference one recognizes in this "obedience." One must know with God's assurance that the person who is guiding is truly in His Living Word and not of the human practices found in religious orders that evolved from the early Middle Ages onward.  Discern carefully; seek God and obey God's will.]

The "Church" is the Body of believers--people--and Christ as the Head.  That is all; that is it; that is the Church.  It is not all this other, and nothing to obey but His Real Presence and to do His will.  The man also said that St. John of the Cross went around on behalf of "the Church" to ascertain which were "real mystics" and which were not "real." I've never read anything of the sort but have asked Dr. W. who corresponds and who has been a world leading expert on John of the Cross.  She was my professor in Avila, Spain, in the course on John of the Cross.  

John was so subsumed into God especially in the latter part of his relatively young life, that I doubt he'd do that because he was focused on spiritual direction of St. Teresa's sisters, and then was ill from mistreatment and being enclosed for a second time up to his death from mistreatment by his then later superior and fellow friars who were envious and disliking of John's closeness to God.  John did not mind for he was so in God by then that he longed to be out of body always and with God in the hereafter, fully.  He died at age 51; the superior and a couple others asked his forgiveness the day before his death.  They intentionally moved him to the worst outpost "house" in the worst climate of Spain, in autumn, to hasten his death and cause him more suffering.  So he was not out and about, judging other mystics and not likely reporting to "the Church" as to being "real" or "not real".  How silly, anyway, the comments the man.  This is just the type of erroneous thinking that pulls down what esteem Christians and others can have for the Catholic Church--such extremists who miss the point of His Real Presence and His Living Word!  

Today is St. Paul's day celebrating his conversion on the road to Damascus.  Paul emphasized and won an argument with Peter that Christ did not have salvation only for the Jews but for all peoples--including the Gentiles and for those in the whole world.  So yes, there is salvation outside the "Roman Catholic Church"; salvation is for those who believe in Christ and strive to follow Him.  The Orthodox Christians would and do argue that Orthodox Catholicism is the true church and no salvation outside Eastern Orthodoxy!  Every major religion argues they are the only one to provide salvation.  

My own death experience and those many others prove that being a Christian--a lover and follower of Christ--allows one salvation.  Conversion can occur at judgment, also.  People who went further in their death experiences and who were not believers had opportunity to believe; and they report Jesus often there in person figure or in tremendous white light, and they knew it was God or Jesus--so loving and with the deceased doing a type of life review.  Some who died experienced hell and converted, were sent back and changed their lives.  I was in a negative situation at the time of my death, but God showed tremendous love and my Christian faith honored Him; I also was not Roman Catholic at the time.  

The man making the blog comments is like those who are narrowed in spiritual reality and extreme in self-righteousness--seemingly not able to read or absorb the Living Word for what Jesus and the apostles actually stated and enacted while on earth.

Anyway, I did tell Thomas yesterday (the man helping me with manual labor my body is unable now to do) that on earth there seems no greater spiritual experience available for anyone than the Mass, if celebrated by a holy priest preaching the Living Word.  Of course, there is powerful experience in brief times of union with God, but the Mass is a beautiful and deep experience if one is open to His Real Presence in His Living Word and in Consecration.  The Living Word is crucial, leading into the Sacrifice.

Then there is the Stairway to Heaven aspect of Mass, and thus the Stairway to Heaven as the individual's spiritual climb--meant for all people who become believers and who desire His Real Presence and come to this point of the spiritual journey.

I'm interested in continuing up the Stairway to Heaven, as I had allowed temporal, human-made aspects of the Church disrupt my spiritual progression in God Is Love.  I was feeling guilty and confused, both, in not recognizing that parishes are gatherings of people but not of themselves necessarily "the Church."  Nor are all the created aspects and made up laws and rituals over the centuries "the Church."  Jesus decried many of these same elements of what had been His heritage "church," the temple, up to the time of His coming to proclaim the truth and teach the "Good News".

I do think the first three centuries and selectively some writers of later centuries have the most to offer as far as insights and help in spiritual growth.  The early Christian hermits were "real" as real can be, and the mystics were "real" as well.  No one investigated or fretted about the Christians who lived a life in solitude in His Real Presence; rather, they were dealing with their own spiritual lives in God.   They were not wrapped up in all the detritus that has accumulated in today's parishes and busybodies more concerned about others' Christian lives than their own.  I cannot in good conscience call all "that" His Church, for the Christian Church is the Body of Christ made up of His beloved followers and Christ as Head that is His Church, not the human-made folderol.

God Bless His Real Presence in us!  Praise Christ in His Living Word!  Love in His Love to all persons and all creation on earth and in heaven!

PostScript:  Dr. W. has responded regarding if John of the Cross went about checking up on other mystics and judging who of them were real or not real and then reporting to "the Church officials."  Her response is only this:  To John of the Cross, a mystic is one who is gifted with infused, supernatural graces; in other words, those who experienced ecstasy, rapture.  No mention made of his being an inquisitor nor tattler.  As for others who have defined mystics, I recommend the late Dr. David Knowles of Cambridge and his book, What Is Mysticism--which also delineates why and how mystics are born as mystics, chosen by God in this capacity so one cannot "become a mystic", whereas contemplation can be developed.  One can become a contemplative.  However, mystics are by nature contemplative.  Contemplatives are not automatically mystics.