Mystical Theology as a science of life

Mystical Theology is the science of the spiritual life, and it is dependent on the operation of Divine grace, and is "In general, an immediate knowledge of God attained in this present life through personal religious experience. It is primarily a state of prayer and as such admits to various degrees, from short and rare Divine 'touches' to the practically permanent union with God in the so-called mystic marriage". (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church)

The desire for love and the desire for knowledge can be called the two eternal passions of man. These two passions dramatically represent man's hunger for ultimate truth, and control the mind of the true mystic. Transcendental consciousness usually governs normal consciousness, and once the full undercurrent of mystical life has settled into the mystic's own transcendental consciousness, he designates himself wholeheartedly to the embrace of the Divine. He enters into a new environment of education that enlightens his consciousness so that it may be assimilated and transformed by the Consciousness of the Infinite.

His medium is contemplation. It is a fascinating art in which he engages for the remainder of his life. It develops step by step and demands faithfulness from the performer, until he has acquired an extraordinary ability of concentration and spiritual nimbleness. In addition, contemplation is a fortitude through which the presence of the Absolute is perceived.

The mystic stands in a strange relationship with God's transcendental world from which he receives rhythms and vibrations unknown to normal beings. A world in which he grows closer and closer to the abysmal beauty and loveliness of nature and the macrocosm, until he becomes the parent of all humanity and of all in the animal- and plant kingdoms. His consciousness is transformed and he lives on a deviant existential level in which he sees nature through the eyes of the cosmos.

Forgiveness is an integral part of his life and his living. Forgiveness is a necessary decision for him, not a choice. He identifies the act of forgiveness as the euphoria and strength of his spiritual life. He appraises it as the charisma and the passion of his emotional life and he esteems it as part of the healing and longevity of his physical well-being. He acknowledges forgiveness as the forgiver's most formidable remedial catalyst.

The mystic's life is not a life of total seclusion. It is an authentic system of life that has its own indemnities, its own obligations, its own commitments and its own passions. Although he is often thought of as a loner with relevance to the physical, he is not the proverbial loner, as his spirit lives in union with God and emanates and receives carte blanche communications and pulsations from all around him.

The mystical life is filled with creativity and artistic expression. Mystics possess a keen interest and love of the arts and often partake in various forms of it.

Delight in his Beloved is the most crucial characteristic of the mystic. In "Mystics in love", Dr. Elizabeth G. Melillo says: "The mystic indeed delights in his Beloved, but this takes him into new realms. The human need for satisfaction of the mind and emotions is ever part of our nature, yet the mystic is dealing with pure spirit, unfathomable intellect, perfection beyond human grasp. He will see the emptiness of the world and the limits of our own perceptions. Thus, the lover's longing, which in itself is a sheer gift of grace, meets with silence. Unchanging, eternal, perfect love surely is the ultimate delight, but the mystic, hampered by the clouded vision of mankind, has both total dedication and the unrequited longing that cannot be satisfied in this world".

The passionate affection for union with the Absolute, cannot quite be understood by the intellect. It is a deafening cry in the ear of God when the soul cries out "My God, I so long to live with You in silence", and thus a purgation of the intellect is necessary to turn loneliness into aloneness, the cloister of the true mystic where he lives and loves the Absolute, for nothing can satisfy the mystic except God.