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Everyday Mysticism: Finding the Divine in Daily Life - Season 1

Series: Everyday Mysticism: Finding the Divine in Daily Life

4.3

(29)

Episodes

Rating

TVG

Year

2015

Language

English

Publisher

Learn 25

About

"In the days ahead, you will either be a mystic or nothing at all." – Karl Rahner... Find God in the midst of daily life through this powerful course. Taught by leading spirituality expert Fr. Anthony Ciorra, these inspiring lectures will give you a deeper understanding of the mystical experience. In particular, you will explore one form of mysticism: "everyday mysticism," as it was called by twentieth-century theologian Karl Rahner. As you will come to understand, we are called not to be extraordinary mystics but extraordinary human beings who experience God in ordinary ways. We often think of mystics as superhuman persons who have paranormal experiences such as visions, ecstasy, and stigmata. When you look closely at such saints as Thérèse of Lisieux, however, you will see that to be a mystic is to occupy the core of human experience. As you explore the mystical writings of such inspiring figures, you will discover that there are both common threads and clear differences. In doing so, you will see how God is a mystery who can never be fully defined. You will look to the tradition for parameters and guideposts on the one hand, and as a path that leads to God on the other. Fr. Ciorra's presentations will lead you to a deeper appreciation of how you are already a mystic. Discover your own inner mysticism today in this inspiring, yet practical course.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1. Everyday Mysticism

25m

Fr. Ciorra's book, Everyday Mysticism, was his first attempt to develop and express his thinking on the subject of mysticism. The watershed moment at the Second Vatican Council was the discussion on holiness. The Council Fathers began the discussion in the context of the religious life but changed course midstream and moved the discussion into the document on the Church. The clarion all of the Council was what the fathers called "the universal call to holiness." Holiness would not be confined to monasteries and convents but would open up to the entire world.
Wisdom is seeing the connection between things. In a sense, wisdom, holiness, and spirituality are all about the same thing, that is, the mystical journey.

2. The Mystical Journey

25m

What does it mean to be a mystic? What is the journey that one must travel to become a mystic? The way we answer these two questions will determine the path we take and the God that we seek. Likewise, the goal of the mystical journey will differ depending on who takes the journey. We will see later in the course that although the end is the same, the path is different for Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, etc.
In the quest for the transcendent One, we engage with others in our world that show us God's face from different angles. We should never study the mystical in isolation from the variety of traditions found in our modern global village.
The religious person is the mystical person.

3. The Human Experience of God

25m

Good theology should lead to spirituality, and good spirituality is rooted in good theology. The hinge between them is religious experience. In this segment, we will explore what we mean by "religious" and what we mean by "experience." We will look at the concept of mystery, the experience of grace and of God, and God's desire for us.

4. Practical Mysticism

25m

This segment gets to the heart of the matter: dealing with the practical implications of the mystical life. How does one begin the mystical journey? What are the characteristics of the mystical personality? This is where the rubber meets the road. Answering these questions will give us a handle on the mystical path and provide some tools by which we can judge authentic mystical experiences.

5. The Conspiracy of Silence

25m

The tradition of the desert fathers and mothers is one that brings the human spirit into silence, and into the context of utter aloneness. This is the seedbed for religious experience; it sets the stage and offers a context for the authentic encounter with the transcendent. In this segment, we will look at the desert fathers and mothers, as well as modern-day mystics, who embraced silence.

6. A Spirituality of Nothingness

25m

The mystic is one who lives and breathes in the context of darkness. This is not to say that darkness has value in and of itself, but that it's the place where we often find the presence of God. In the successes and the happiness that come to us on good days, often we could say that we do not need God. In some respects, we begin to think that we are God during such times. It is only when things begin to fall apart that we begin to look for God.

7. Symphony of the Word

25m

This segment will approach the scriptures from a mystical perspective. The interest here is not on the historical-critical method of interpretation, or even the use of scripture for creative meditation using the senses. The mystics were often nourished by sacred texts. (Note: Fr. Ciorra refers to the Judeo-Christian use of the Bible-the Torah and the Christian scriptures.)

8. Holy Reading

25m

This segment introduces the listener to an ancient and tested way of reading that we call Lectio Divina, or "Holy Reading." It will build on the previous segment and give you tools that can be used for a mystical reading of sacred texts. We will look at the concept of leisure, as well as the writings of the Church Fathers.

9. Mystics

25m

The mystical experience is one that leads to harmony and convergence among religions. The reason is that the mystic does not focus on doctrine, but rather religious experience. On the level of religious experience, it is the one God that we all encounter regardless of race, religion, economic status or nationality.

10. Prophetic Mysticsm

25m

It is difficult to categorize mystics. This is not to exclude the possibility that the mystic can be the prophet. However, the prophetic role is distinct and might even be too narrow for the mystic. In this segment, we will look at the three Abrahamic traditions-Judaism, Islam, and Christianity-as merging the prophetic and mystical and thus bringing about a new reality.

Extended Details

SeriesEveryday Mysticism: Finding the Divine in Daily Life

Closed CaptionsEnglish

Artists

Fr. Anthony Ciorra, Ph. D.Director

Fr. Anthony Ciorra, Ph. D.Actor

Everyday Mysticism: Finding the Divine in Daily Life - Season 1

Everyday Mysticism: Finding the Divine in Daily Life - Season 1

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