Many of us believe the idea that mystics were people who were required to have levitated, seen a vision, bleed from their hands or had some type of extraordinary experience. However, I learned from my latest course that although many mystics have indeed experienced some of these situations not all of them have. An important definition of mystic was said by Sister Noel, “experience of the presence of the transcendent God in the everyday stuff of the human life (prayer, teaching, repairing the car) the person who sees in the human experience the presence of God as a love inviting them to live in the love that created each person.” This brings the definition down to an attainable level, similar to the saint.
We need to teach our students that the requirement of becoming a mystic is one who has a deep relationship with God and a sacramental awareness of God in everyday life. In the Sacraments course I teach Sacramental Awareness as the foundation of the course. If my students can start to see God in everyday life, everything will make more sense to them. There is a need for spiritual companionship for students and guidance. Many times in life our students do witness God moments but cannot recognize them as such. The more they understand their own spirituality the more they will recognize God in everyday life.
We can all be mystics!
