Imagine being assigned the task of describing with absolute precision, within a finite number of pages, everything science currently knows about the universe. It would be a monumental undertaking, wouldn’t it?
Yet, the mystic faces an even greater task. A mystic must describe not only the visible world, but also its deep connection with the invisible world—and, above all, the union of both with God: the Mystery of all mysteries.
Despite how impossible this goal sounds, throughout the history of the Church there have been men and women who achieved truly extraordinary breakthroughs along this path. Think, for instance, of Saint Teresa of Ávila or Saint John of the Cross. They, alongside other great saints, advanced in this seemingly impossible mission and, in a paradoxical way, gifted us with far clearer insights into that which is, in essence, ineffable.
Traces in the Dark
In landmark works such as Dark Night of the Soul, Saint John of the Cross describes the frequent, purifying journey of the soul through the night—the obscure, the unknown, that which can neither be seen nor felt—to reach the ultimate encounter with the Beloved. In Ascent of Mount Carmel, he details the paths, deserts, and crossroads of this spiritual journey toward the Creator. Or in Saint Teresa’s The Interior Castle , where the soul’s stages of deepening maturity on its way to God are unfolded, leading her to exclaim in her poetry that burning desire: “I die because I do not die.”
In each of these writings, we glimpse the threads connecting the visible world to the invisible, sustained by a God who transcends and holds both together.
The God Who Offers a Glimpse
Defining or framing mysticism with human words is difficult because mysticism speaks of the Infinite. And if you manage to frame or enclose the infinite within a human concept, it is no longer the Infinite you are describing.
This experience recalls that passage from the Book of Exodus (Exodus 33:18–23), when Moses asks God: “Please show me your glory.” The Lord’s reply reveals the limits of our earthly condition and, at the same time, the tenderness of His love: “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live… I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
Mysticism is precisely that: contemplating the “back” of God, tracing His footprints across history and within the soul, knowing that the fullness of His face will be contemplated face to face in eternity. As Saint John Paul II reminded us in his encyclical *Veritatis Splendor* (n. 109):
“Faith also possesses a moral value: it calls for and demands a consistent life commitment; it asks the human being for silence and listening in order to perceive God’s presence and action.”
In mystic silence, the soul learns to listen to that gentle whisper where God passes by and lets His glory be glimpsed.
An Invitation to Immerse Yourself in the Mystery
For this reason, this article does not seek to define or “box in” mysticism. It aims to serve as an doorway to enter into the fascinating journey of the unspeakable. It is an open invitation to read and reread the great masters of the spiritual life: Teresa of Ávila, John of the Cross, Francis of Assisi, Julian of Norwich, or Mechthild of Magdeburg between many other mystics the church has.
It invites us to plunge deeper into Sacred Scripture and to live wrapped, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the Mystery that penetrates all things, knows all things, and embraces all things—a divine Reality that far surpasses any of our small daily realities.
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