In every moment of our lives, God is asking us to respond to grace—and grace is simply God’s ardent longing and enthusiastic invitation to a deeper relationship, a mystical relationship. Mysticism is more commonplace than you might think. It is living with sensitivity to the Divine presence and responding to God’s invitation to a deeper relationship at this very moment.

Mystics teach us to celebrate Jesus’s offer of forgiveness right here, right now, and not live in the past submerged in guilt over sinful actions. Like us, mystics have distractions in prayer—Teresa of Avila mentions times when, during prayer, her attention was focused more on the grains of sand in the hourglass than the crucifix—but they acknowledge and respect distractions as potential teachers in the spiritual life. Mystics pray from their current feelings, even those other people consider inappropriate to express to God.

Mystics are servers, welders, writers, and web designers who heartily respond to the direct and enthusiastic invitation of Jesus, “Come follow me.” It is the ordinary call singularly offered to all. The mystic’s journey is, in fact, the disciple’s journey. We are all called to be mystics, but how do we respond?

Here and Now

Many of us experience a divisive bi-location; we are here but our minds are elsewhere. We may be here but living in the past, beating ourselves up with guilt for something we did days, months, or even years ago. George lives with the daily guilt that his drinking has destroyed his family. Jason bitterly regrets waiting a day before returning to his mother’s bedside, she died early that morning. Marge wishes she could erase last year’s act of infidelity. The Chinese say, “don’t let yesterday use up too much of today,” but some people allow it to do just that. Guilt drains us emotionally, keeping us morosely self-absorbed and unable to be present in the moment at hand.

A newborn baby, on the other hand, doesn’t know the past or future. An infant lives in the present moment. While she is hungry, she cries. When he sees something pleasurable, he smiles. An infant demonstrates that guilt, worry, and anxiety are not natural. These responses are learned as we grow up and mature: “just wait until your father gets home!” teaches the young boy to feel guilty; overhearing a fretting parent saying, “I’m not sure how we are going to pay the bills this month” exposes a young girl to worry and anxiety.

Jesus insisted we unlearn a lot. He did not want us to be imprisoned in the past with guilt and regret. So much of his ministry was focused on forgiving and freeing sinners from their past (Matthew 9: 6; Luke 7: 47; 23: 34). Because Jesus did not want us burdened with ongoing worry and anxiety, he urged followers to live in the present moment (Matthew 6: 34). His teaching was simple and direct: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18: 3).

Abandonment to Divine presence, traditionally ascribed to the late 17th, mid-18th century Jesuit Jean- Pierre de Caussade, gives us some insight into the Christian mysticism of the here-and-now.  De Caussade calls the present moment a “sacrament.” That is because it is the portal through which God and angels walk into our lives. Think of the Lord visiting Abraham and receiving hospitality at Abraham’s tent in Mamre (Genesis 18: 1-33) or Gabriel’s visit and invitation to Mary (Luke 1: 26-38). To live with attention to the present moment is to be open to a divine visitation.

Simeon’s Mindfulness Recognized the Christ Child

The story of elderly Simeon also alerts us to this (Luke 2: 25-35). Though the elderly are often stereotyped as living in the past with sentimentality, the devout Simeon eagerly lives in the present and waits for a divine promise to be fulfilled: to see the Lord’s Messiah. His eyes are wide open, and his heart is tight with expectation. When Joseph and Mary bring the newborn Jesus into the temple to perform the customary rituals of the Mosaic law, spirit-led Simeon’s heart breaks wide open and flowers, his eyes twinkle, and he betrays his mindfulness of the present moment with the first words out of his mouth: “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word” (Luke 2: 29). With a mystical vision rooted in the present moment, this righteous man gazes upon the Divine.

Recognizing Needs & Duties Builds Relationship with God

But the present moment is a sacrament for another reason. In de Caussade’s words “Every moment we live through is like an ambassador who declares the will of God.” The here and now should not be dismissed or ignored because it reveals the divine longings and yearnings in the most ordinary of situations: the outstretched hand of the poor, the cry of the infant, the twinge of conscience to forgive a neighbor, or the Alzheimer’s patient needing to be fed. The moments unmet need or require duty, as Abraham and Mary remind us, affirms and proclaims God’s ardent longing and enthusiastic invitation to a deeper relationship with each one of us. If a familial relationship with Jesus is determined by doing the will of God (Matthew 12: 50), ordinary mystics are those who attentively respond with childlike wonder to the simple tedious details of everyday living. “Thy will be done.” Mindfulness breeds mysticism.

You may ask if it is irresponsible to be attentive to the present moment and neglect the past and future. If the present moment is asking me to look at the past and balance my checkbook or make an examination of my conscience, I do it. If it is asking me to live in the future and plan the menu for next week or discuss my retirement plans with a financial planner, I do it. It is not a matter of choosing between the past, present, or future. It is a matter of being present to where I am and allowing this ambassador to show me where my focus should be—and what God’s will is.

Four Step Method to Living in the Now

Father Albert Haase provides an easy to remember guide for living in the now:

1. Start by stopping and gathering yourself from all the different places where you are mentally bi-locating —whether they are in the past or future.
2. Once you have returned to the present moment with recollection, look. Pay attention to your senses. It’s important that you take your time and dally and delight here.
3. Having attended to your five senses, briefly listen. Reflect upon what your senses are registering. You may find it helpful to ask yourself, what is God saying to me right now? What is God asking me to do? Momentarily pausing and pondering these two questions might reveal an unmet need or required duty. This third step is letting the present moment be the ambassador that declares God’s will.
4. Your recollection (stop), attention (look), and reflection (listen) should blossom into a response. Go. The unmet need or required duty might call you to prayer or contemplative silence. It might ask you to share your time, talents, or treasure with someone less fortunate. It might require changing a diaper or resisting the temptation to snap a photograph with your cell phone. It might challenge you to visit a neighbor and offer an apology. God is inviting a response right here, right now.

Conclusion

We are not always consciously aware we are standing at the portal to the sacred. Nevertheless, with ardent longing and an enthusiastic invitation to a deeper relationship, God provides these moments of unmet need or require duty as an opportunity for us to get a foothold in the door. Our loving, spontaneous response—be it playful, pragmatic, or proactive—will sometimes unveil a touch of the divine and in retrospect, awaken surprise, wonder, and awe. These three emotions fuel ordinary mystics.

The spiritual journey challenges us not to feel guilty about the past or anxious about the future; Our task is to surrender the past to the mercy of God and to offer the future in trust to God. In our pilgrimage we experience the extraordinary in the ordinary, as God and angels call us in an unmet need or require duty. There is mysticism in the mundane moment for those who live with mindfulness.

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Relevant Scripture

But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” (Matthew 9:6)

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:47)

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3)

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. (Matthew 12:50)

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”  (Luke 2:28-32)

Reference:

Becoming an Ordinary Mystic by Albert Haase, OFM

In the following video Father Albert Haase presents more on this topic.