Karl Rahner is credited with making the statement that today one is either a mystic or a non-believer.
The Holy Longing, by Ronald RolheiserThis is basically true for most of us today. In his book The Holy Longing, Ronald Rolheiser says it is no longer enough to have been born into a Christian family, to have been baptised, or even to be part of a worshipping community. None of these, alone, will necessarily give us real faith.
This is evident, not just because so many people (including many of our own children) are drifting away from Christianity, but because, even within our churches, it is easier to have faith in Christianity, in a code of ethics, in Jesus’s moral teaching, in God’s call for justice, and in the human value of gathering as community, than it is to have personal faith in a living God. Too often, what we have, in fact, is not Christianity but an ideology of Christianity.
Thus, there is an important challenge in Rahner’s comment. To have a living faith today one must at some point in his or her life make a deep, private act of faith… a leap into the mystical realm.
Living faith is characterised by its vitality and fruitfulness
There are numerous definitions of what a mystic is. But one that resonates strongly comes from author and translator of mystics, Mirabai Starr, who writes: “The way of the mystic is the way of surrender, of dying to the false self to be reborn as the true self, the God self, the radiant divine being we actually are. It is not that the old self – the personality, the ego, the stories we tell about our lives – is bad or wrong. It’s that when we recognise the essential emptiness of our individual identity in the light of the glorious gift of our interconnectedness with the One, independence becomes much less compelling.”
So how do we become mystics in the midst of all this? Virtually all classical spiritual writers, from every tradition, suggest one road beyond all of this – private prayer. In order to sustain yourself in faith you must regularly (most would say daily) spend an extended period of time in private prayer. Failure to do so, they warn, results in a certain dissipation of the soul, even when our sincerity remains intact.
Living faith is a dynamic and active trust in God that manifests in the believer’s life through obedience, works, and spiritual growth. It is not merely intellectual assent to doctrinal truths, but involves a heartfelt commitment to God, resulting in a transformed life. Living faith is characterised by its vitality and fruitfulness, distinguishing it from a dead or nominal faith.
The vitality of a living faith encourages us when we face trials and challenges. James 1:2-3 says: “Consider it pure joy… whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance”. Such perseverance leads to spiritual maturity and completeness.
And Jesus said: “For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)