Christian/Catholic Esotericism

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well, I would not use “Christian mysticism” and “esotericism” in the same sentence, and I would not use “St. Francis” and “esotericism” in the same sentence but we are probably using that word differently, and I am not sure of your meaning and context. you might want to search on “mysticism” on this forum for wider discussions. Mysticism is not esoteric it is inherent and mainstream in true Christian spirituality
 
puzzleannie said:
well, I would not use “Christian mysticism” and “esotericism” in the same sentence, and I would not use “St. Francis” and “esotericism” in the same sentence but we are probably using that word differently, and I am not sure of your meaning and context. you might want to search on “mysticism” on this forum for wider discussions. Mysticism is not esoteric it is inherent and mainstream in true Christian spirituality
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I see esotericism and mysticism as essentially the same 🙂

EDIT: What kind of practices are there, are there any kind of “guidebooks”… etc.

thank you all.

PS. Currently Buddhist, but reading about catholicism.
 
My dear friend

The best catholic authors on mysticism are 2 Carmelite doctors-

You can get-

The complete works of St Teresa of Avila. Very easy to understand for laymen.

The complete works of St John of the Cross . Very intellectual but great.

There are many other classics too.

Some definitions for catholics-

ESOTERIC. Something meant for only a few experts or initiates. Applied originally to the secret doctrines held by the Stoics, or to the esoteric members of the Pythagorean brotherhoods. The opposite of exoteric. (Etym. Latin esotericus; from esoterikos, inner; hence, secret.)

MYSTICISM. The supernatural state of soul in which God is known in a way that no human effort or exertion could ever succeed in producing. There is an immediate, personal experience of God that is truly extraordinary, not only in intensity and degree, but in kind. It is always the result of a special, totally unmerited grace of God. Christian mysticism differs essentially from the non-Christian mysticism of the Oriental world. It always recognizes that the reality to which it penetrates simply transcends the soul and the cosmos; there is no confusion between I and thou, but always a profound humility before the infinite Majesty of God. And in Christian mysticism all union between the soul and God is a moral union of love, in doing his will even at great sacrifice to self; there is no hint of losing one’s being in God or absorption of one’s personality into the divine.

An article from wikipedia on the subject you may like en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_mysticism

Hope this helps.

God bless you and pray for me please:thumbsup:🙂

John
 
I agree with the above posters. Read more about Catholic mysticism. And you can’t do that without reading a whole lot of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.

However, I would caution that it’s not necessarily a good idea to begin with Catholic mysticism if you’re not yet Catholic. That could lead one to simply picking out those things here and there that jive with one’s already formed worldview rather than implementing that mysticism in one’s spiritual life the way it was intended.
 
. . . adding to the previous comments.

Christian mysticism is about union with God. When reading the Saints . . . Carmelite’s in particular . . . it’s important to note that “union” has different meanings depending on what is being discussed at the time.

Broadly speaking, there’s union in substance which is all about how we are transformed and made more and more Christ-like through growth in virtue, self-denial and, God willing, infused contemplation. The union of will’s lies at the heart of this with various “degrees” of perfection that go by names like the spiritual betrothal/espousal and spiritual marriage/transforming union.

There’s also a union of the faculties which is the temporary and fleeting “experience” of God at a particular time of prayer in which the intellect, will and memory are absorbed or suspended by God (in whole or part) for a period of time. This is what is meant by infused contemplation.

The union in substance is “the one important thing” in Christian mysticism – and it might or might not be accompanied by the union of the faculties . . . depending on God’s plan for the individual soul.

Dave 🙂
 
How do Catholics feel about Esoteric orders such as the Golden Dawn?

I’m reading about them, and i think i’m being pulled that way…
 
I have no idea what “Golden Dawn” is. Anything that is esoteric is likely the opposite of what the Catholic Church teaches, which is that all are called to holiness, and that the heights of holiness are available to all who are willing to travel the straight and narrow path to Heaven.
 
beckycmarie said:
I have no idea what “Golden Dawn” is. Anything that is esoteric is likely the opposite of what the Catholic Church teaches, which is that all are called to holiness, and that the heights of holiness are available to all who are willing to travel the straight and narrow path to Heaven.
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It’s pretty much an esoteric order that purifies the candidate, and then exalts them to be like Jesus, using the “mystic” formula of INRI, and the rose and the cross, and so on.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

EDIT: Before the “New age!” alarm goes off, the order was formed in the late 1800s, before “New age” even existed.
 
In Christian “mysticism”, or contemplative prayer, we have a relationship with a Person. The very Person who created us!

Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of the 2nd Person of the Blessed Trinity.

The goal of prayer and contemplation in the life of a Catholic Christian is to be one with Jesus Christ. When this happens we are truly who we were meant to be.

Many times this takes more than a lifetime to achieve, and that is why the purgation (purification) may need to continue after death.
 
Well a google search turns up info that this “order” is into witchcraft and is associated with freemasonry. These activities are anti-Christian and are dangerous. I would stay far away from this group and anything related to the occult.
 
Sherab0 said:
It’s pretty much an esoteric order that purifies the candidate, and then exalts them to be like Jesus, using the “mystic” formula of INRI, and the rose and the cross, and so on.

http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/images/golden-dawn.jpg

EDIT: Before the “New age!” alarm goes off, the order was formed in the late 1800s, before “New age” even existed.
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Don’t be fooled. The term “New age” is an umbrella term used for old occult and erroneous practices as well.
“New Age” may use different terminology to make it sound special.

I checked out that site “the Golden Dawn” and see that it is chock full of occult practices. Yes, it looks and sounds “esoteric”, but it is totally against Christianity.

Satan tricked Eve, and he is still tricking countless others by “high-sounding” claptrap.

May the One God lead you!
 
Simply put, Christian Mysticism is never Esoteric.
What the Christian Mystics experience and do is evaluated by the Church openly.
There is no secret methods, secret initiations, secret rituals.
The problem is, Christian Mysticism is so ordinary that some people think it is so extraordinary… People can really be so strange…
 
Hi guys, I’m unsure to which thread I must post this question but, here’s the situation. A dear friend gave me a Bible as a gift but as I was browsing through it, I noticed that there are symbols or characters (which I think a lot of us will be unfamiliar with) written over the title heading of the gospel of John (John 17). It doesn’t look Greek or Hebrew to me. I have to say with my untrained eyes, the characters are similar to the Phoenician alphabet but really I’m clueless.

I asked my friend what it was and she said it was written by one of the elders in their prayer community who blessed the Bible. She said she doesn’t know what the symbols/characters mean either.

What should I make of this? I am planning to have this Bible blessed by our parish priest but I am a bit bothered by those markings as I have no idea what they mean or symbolize. :confused:
 
pilgrim26 said:
Hi guys, I’m unsure to which thread I must post this question but, here’s the situation. A dear friend gave me a Bible as a gift but as I was browsing through it, I noticed that there are symbols or characters (which I think a lot of us will be unfamiliar with) written over the title heading of the gospel of John (John 17). It doesn’t look Greek or Hebrew to me. I have to say with my untrained eyes, the characters are similar to the Phoenician alphabet but really I’m clueless.

I asked my friend what it was and she said it was written by one of the elders in their prayer community who blessed the Bible. She said she doesn’t know what the symbols/characters mean either.

What should I make of this? I am planning to have this Bible blessed by our parish priest but I am a bit bothered by those markings as I have no idea what they mean or symbolize. :confused:
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It would be wise to ask a priest in the know about such things as to what this bible is about. Some priests have a greater gift than other priests of the gift of discernment.

There are many bible translations that are Catholic. May the Lord lead you to understanding about this bible and what to do about it. Caution is a good way to go.
 
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