1. Mario Hérmina
Dr. Mourad
RS 250
April 19, 2015
The Diversity of Mysticism-
Ignatius of Loyola and Thérèse of lisieux
Christianity throughout history was very diverse. Since its beginning in Jerusalem it
quickly emerged to the rest of the Middle East and North Africa to Anatolia and Armenia and the
rest of Europe. Christian mysticism is as diverse as the church; it includes men and women, mar-
ried and virgins, poor and rich, sinful and virtuous. People from every background are welcome
in Christ, and once they accept the Divine light in their lives they become “enlightened” as they
reach unity with God despite their different social and cultural backgrounds.
I’ll be discussing the lives of two very different saints; Ignatius of Loyola and Thérèse of
lisieux. They both had different backgrounds and the society expectations from each of them
were very different, and despite all of that they both managed to become great saints and mystics
who still inspire us till today.
The first mystic, Iñigo or Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) is usually known for his formi-
dable accomplishment, which was: the inspiration and organization of the Society of Jesus, with
all its saints, scholars, spiritual directors, teachers, and missionaries, but he was being ignored as
mystic. He also did not write much, he wasn’t that good of a writer, and he destroyed some parts
of his diaries. In the beginning of his life, Ignatius was a Basque soldier serving in the emperor’s
army, and he very held little promise of any spiritual future. In his autobiography it said: “Until

2. the age of twenty-six he was a man given over to the vanities of the world.” 1
Later on Ignatius
was wounded in the defense of the Pamplona fortress , while being in there he started reading
Ludolph the Saxon’s Life of Christ and Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend (the lives of the
saints) ,and those readings literary changed his life. A year later he received a mystical revelation
in Manresa on the bank of the River Cardoner: As he sat there he experienced an epiphany, and
the eyes of his understanding began to open. It was more of a comprehension than a vision, as he
sat by himself and meditated he understood many things about the spiritual life as well as about
faith and learning. This case is called an intellectual vision, which is, a sudden insight without
sense perception or a dominating image. From this point a mystical life began that stayed until
Ignatius’ final years.
Throughout his life, Ignatius experienced some sense of constant presence of God, and
this led him to establish this new organization called the Society of Jesus. As well as writing a
spiritual guide – still used today- The Spiritual Exercises which coordinate with his post-
illumination apostolic activity in his spiritual solitude of Manresa. For a long time The Spiritual
Exercises had a dubious reputation among writers on contemplative prayer. As late as the begin-
ning of the twentieth century scholars dismissed it as a mere technique, maybe useful for bring-
ing people to an elementary form of prayer but definitely not conducive to higher contemplation.
Fortunately, this is not the case today. The Spiritual Exercises – as simple as it seems to be - is a
very difficult book to read. Indeed, it is not a book to read at all because most of the nowadays
Jesuit priests – who I met at least - would confirm that no one can do the exercise on their own;
as it takes a whole month at least to go through them with a well-trained priest or a spiritual
guide in an isolated place and in a retreat environment. The Spiritual Exercises are considered to
be a manual of instructions rather than a piece of literature. It’s a dry form of annotations and
1
The Autobiography of St Ignatius Loyola.: Fordham UP, 1992. Print.

3. points for meditation and guide for the people who are seeking spiritual excel about how to be-
have while entering into, and progressing in, their spiritual life. Overall, the book bears the mark
of Ignatius’ own mystical progress. In The Spiritual Exercises Ignatius suggested an application
of the senses
“When he invites exercitants in the meditation on hell “to see in imagination the
great fires,” “to hear the wailing, the screaming, cries and blasphemies,” “to smell the
smoke, the brimstone, the corruption, rottenness,” “to taste bitter things, as tears, sad-
ness, and remorse of conscience,” “with the sense of touch to feel how the flames sur-
round and burn souls.” Concrete presentations such as these may not be to the modern
taste, but the idea behind them remains an essential part of contemplative life.2
The very detailed descriptions used in the Spiritual Exercises are making use of the full ap-
plications of human senses that fulfills a self- conscious function. They also serve a direct expo-
sure and unity to the human Christ. Ignatius transformed through his writings religious meta-
phors into more practical and more contemplative steps that aim to lead candidates in a state of
holy indifference to follow Christ alone and to live in the constant presence of God and work un-
der the exclusive guidance of God’s Spirit. The way of Ignatius inspired and made great men of
action out of great contemplatives. Besides playing an important role in saving the Catholic
church during the reformation, the Society of Jesus gave us missionaries like Francis Xavier and
Peter Canisius; philosophers and scientists like Francisco Suarez, Joseph Maréchal, Karl Rahner,
2
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web.

4. Petavius, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin; and spiritual directors like Louis Lallemant, Balthasar Al-
varez, Jean de Caussade. 3
The spirituality of Ignatius was very different – in my opinion –. As he talks about his per-
sonal relation with God, he describes it as if God treated him as a schoolmaster treats a child
whom he is teaching. This might sound very strange if we compare his experience to the experi-
ences of other mystics, but the reason behind this description might be because of his lack of
education, or because he had no one to teach him.
According to Dupré there were some characteristics that made Ignatius a unique saint: the
first was that he was Trinitarian, which means that he perceived God as a Trinity according to the
Christian Catholic theology, he had a great devotion to the Trinity, he prayed to the three Persons
separately. But as he also prayed to the Most Holy Trinity, the thought came to him on why he
said four prayers to God after all. But he thought that the Most Holy Trinity can be seen in the
form of three musical keys which made him more acceptable to the whole idea of the Most Holy
Trinity. The second was once; the manner in which God had created the world was presented to
his understanding with great spiritual joy. He seemed to see something white, from which rays
were coming, and God made light from this. But he did not know how to explain these things,
nor did he remember too well the spiritual enlightenment that God was imprinting on his soul at
the time, because his experience was ineffable and unexplainable. The third was while he was at
Manresa. He began to be consoled by God and saw the fruit which he bore in dealing with souls,
he gave up those extremes he had formerly practiced, and he now cut his nails and his hair. One
day in this town while he was hearing Mass in the church of the monastery mentioned above, at
the elevation of the Body of the Lord, he saw with interior eyes something like white rays com-
3
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web

5. ing from above. Although he cannot explain this very well after so long a time, nevertheless,
what he saw clearly with his understanding was how Jesus Christ our Lord was there in that
Most Holy Sacrament. Another characteristic was that often and for a long time, while at prayer,
he saw with interior eyes the humanity of Christ. The form that appeared to him was like a white
body, neither very large nor very small, but he did not see any distinction of members. He saw it
at Manresa many times. He would not dare to say that it’s a lie. He has seen this another time in
Jerusalem and yet another while traveling near Padua. He has also seen the Virgin Mary in a sim-
ilar form, without distinguishing parts. Ignatius’ life was full and his spirituality was unique and
his achievements are unquestionable. He was indeed a great leader and saint for his time.
On the other hand, The second mystic, Thérèse of Lisieux or Marie-Françoise-Thérèse
Martin (1873-1894) had such a short life, but it was so uneventful that some of the nuns with
whom she lived during her final nine years were not even aware of any particular virtue in her
and wondered aloud what could possibly be said in praise of her after her death. Today of course
no one doubts her genuine sanctity, and that she’s counted among the mystics. Thérèse was born
at Alençon in Normandy, France on January 2, 1873. She was the ninth and youngest child of
two devout Catholic parent; Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin. Of the five children who lived be-
yond childhood four became Carmelite nuns in the convent at Lisieux-- the city to which the
family moved after her Mother’s death -- , and unlike Ignatius, Thérèse was expected to be a nun
like her four other sisters. Years later, Thérèse wrote of her mother’s death as a particularly sad
and trying period of her life, the pain of her death lasted more than nine years and was marked by
bouts of depression. And all that was when she was only ten years old4
. Already during these
years she had a strong desire to enter Carmel to follow the path of her elder sister who was con-
4
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web

6. sidered as a second mother to her, Pauline. She was very persistent as she finally obtained special
permission to join the community at Lisieux only three months beyond her fifteenth birthday.
During her early years in the convent she was regularly assigned only the menial employments
common to postulants, novices, and the newly professed, but at the age of twenty she was as-
signed the important position of assistant to the novice mistress. In the summer of the following
year, Thérèse became so ill and the first signs of tuberculosis started to appear and she became
progressively weaker. Despite her weakness, Thérèse continued her regular duties without any
relaxation for nearly two years until she was moved to the convent infirmary, where she died on
the evening of September 30, 1897. She was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1923 and canonized
two years later, May 17, 1925.
The spirituality of Thérèse can be summarized in this statement: “It is not so much what
we do that counts in God’s eyes but rather the love with which we do it or more exactly, the love
with which we allow God to love in and through ourselves.”5
and the verse that she used on her
own Carmelite coat of arms was, “Love is repaid by love alone,” and from the New Testament
she absorbed and lived out the teaching that this love must be extended in practical ways to eve-
ryone, starting with those whom we find naturally least attractive: one must render them “all pos-
sible services,” search out their virtues rather than their faults, and answer with a kind word
when tempted to respond in a disagreeable manner.” 6
It was a really simple and naive way in
which she described in her autobiographical Story of a Soul which led Pope Pius X to call her
“the greatest saint of modern times.” As she reported some incidents in her book Story of The
Soul about the powerfulness of her prayers that led her to union with God when she said:
5
Therese, De Lisieux Saint. Robert J. Edmonson. The Story of the Soul: A New Translation. Brewster, Mass: Para-
clete, 2006. Print.
6
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web.

7. “For me, prayer is the heart’s impulse, a simple gave toward heaven. It is a cry of grati-
tude and love, from the depths of trial as well as the heights of joy. Finally, it’s something great,
supernatural; hat expands my soul and unites me to Jesus.”7
One point that’s really controversial is that Thérèse’s life was empty from presence of ex-
traordinary mystical phenomena. Thérèse wrote such things as “I have never longed for visions”;
“I have no wish to have ecstasies” “I have never wished for extraordinary graces. That does not
fit in with my little way.”8
; which gives us a whole new perspective of the understanding of mys-
ticism. Mysticism does not mean an extraordinary grace given to those who directly experience
the divine presence, but rather a way of life. And if this was the case we would not consider Thé-
rèse of Lisieux as a mystic. The original Christian usage of the word mystical referred to the ob-
jective hidden reality of Christ in scripture and in the sacraments. An immediate, vivid, and at
times overwhelmingly ecstatic consciousness of this real presence has indeed often been found in
those who have dedicated themselves the following of the gospel9
. But this kind of experience
did not belong to the essence of the mystical as this was originally understood by writers like Or-
igen, or Pseudo Dionysius.. Looking back over her life, she once said that she did not believe she
had ever gone more than a few minutes without thinking about God. For her, unlike Teresa of
Avila, this conviction of God’s reality was not accompanied by personal experiences of ecstasy,
nor did her conviction inspire reflections on the trinity of the mind as an image of God or on that
“spark in the soul” –as in the case for Eckhart - which entirely transcends the world of space and
time. In these respects Thérèse actually differs from all of the other mystics we studied, as she
7
Therese, De Lisieux Saint. Robert J. Edmonson. The Story of the Soul: A New Translation. Brewster, Mass: Para-
clete, 2006. Print.
8
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web.
9
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web.

8. included an anthology where she offers neither personal descriptions of ecstatic experience nor
theological articulation about the nature of God’s presence to her soul. What she did offer was a
very detailed experience of her growing love towards God and her own consciousness of her
nothingness.10
In conclusion, every mystic had their own life styles and different views about their spiritu-
ality and union with God. The simplicity of Thérèse or the powerfulness and ambition of Ignatius
did not keep any of them from fulfilling their role in society and towards God. I think that going
through the biographies of saints and mystics gives hope to everyone no matter who they are,
and where they stand in their spiritual path. I believe that God invites every single person to
come to him and unite with his spirit. Mysticism is not exclusive on a specific group of people,
and everyone can have a direct access to God through their very own unique way.
10
Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mysticism. New York:
Paulist, 1988. Web.

9. Bibliography
• Dupré, Louis K., and James A. Wiseman. Light from Light: An Anthology of Christian Mys-
ticism. New York: Paulist, 1988. Web.
• Martin, James. My Life with the Saints. Chicago, IL: Loyola, 2006. Print.
• Therese, De Lisieux Saint. Robert J. Edmonson. The Story of the Soul: A New Translation.
Brewster, Mass: Paraclete, 2006. Print.
• Ignatius W. H. Longridge, and Claudio Acquaviva. The Spiritual Exercises. London: A.R.
Mowbray, 1955. Print.
• The Autobiography of St Ignatius Loyola.: Fordham UP, 1992. Print.