Original scientific paper
Mystical Experience with St John of the Cross
Jakov Mamić
; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb
Abstract
We are dealing with the reality of mystical experience since
it includes the objective and theologically valid content, which is
therefore an important trait for our research. For that purpose
we will study both theology and the experience of St John of the
Cross. We hold that he is an unquestionable authority in the field
of mystical theology.
From the standpoint of “content”, in the mystical experience
that St John of the Cross put forward and explained we find a
list of “objects-contents” that are fundamental for all what we can rightly call “theology”; first of all “God” “one” and “trine” since he
creates, communicates, transforms, unites. Then we find “man” in
his anthropological reality: capable of the basic dialogue (creation
aspect) and a subject of God’s interest in a complete dialogue
(creation-again/redeeming aspect). Then there is the “world”
understood in its reality of a “trace” (ontological, important for the
“basic” dialogue) of the passage of God and at the same time as
a place of our temporariness (the need for the divine-theological
cleansing which gives form to the human being for the eternal
existence). We also find the “Church” as a place and mystery of
the community of persons who have set out to “Christ’s school”.
St John of the Cross developed the Trinitarian theology as the
“economy of salvation”, i.e. taken not of itself or in itself, but viewed
as a redeeming relationship, i.e. a relationship that transforms the
person who believes. As the Trinitarian problem is one of those that
are most theological and speculative, we will try to present the way
of thinking of St John of the Cross in relation to the main “content”
of mystical experience. We are sure that such a selection will give
a positive scientific material sufficient to support the thesis about
the noethical value of mystical experience: wisdom-truth.
We conclude, on the basis of this research, that mystical
experience has right to “theological place”. We prove it so that
we evaluate mystical cognition as an integral anthropologicalgracious
cognition which has its noethical weight, important for
scientific theology.
Keywords
God; experience; mystical experience; Trinitarian; theology; noethics; John of the Cross
Hrčak ID:
38881
URI
Publication date:
30.6.2009.
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