Association Of Catholic Bloggers

A book that questioned my basic premise about the nature of reality, rekindled joy in my drooping spirit then challenged me to change. We have all read of saints who claim to live in mystical union with Christ. The image that comes to mind is of a medieval monk, morose and miserable, wearing a hair shirt and living on bread and water. However I discovered that the claims of saints are not bogus but true and furthermore that it is completely realistic that I expect that I too will live joyfully in the Resurection. The accounts of the saints might be couched in fanciful, archaic laguage but they are not allegories or fairytales. This Resurrected life is not a for a select few because humans are wired for a life lived in and through a mystical connection to God. Twenty-five years ago, my husband discovered a book at a Trappist monastery that changed our lives, called  “Guidelines to Mystical Prayer”  by a British Carmelite nun, Ruth Burrows. She describes Petra, a woman who

At the request of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has been given to us. Do we really know what that means? What does a life lived in the spirit look like? “But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.” ~John 16:7 The Holy Spirit is supposed to be so significant in our lives that it is better than if Jesus were to be here, right now! A life lived in the spirit is radically different. It is imbued with wisdom, grace, and virtue. It longs to do God’s will and live in accordance with His edicts—and is able to do so because it is under control of the Holy Spirit and does not follow selfish desires. “And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation.” ~John 16:8 The Holy Spirit is a bit like electricity or gravity—you may not be able to understand or explain either of them but that doesn’t change their reality. The truth is not subjective—it is objective. At the heart of the Holy Spiri