The aim of the Christian mystic is, by a life of prayer, meditation and contemplation, often interspersed with regular and hard physical work and accompanied by ascetic practices, to achieve a state of unity with God in and through the mystical body of Christ. Those on the mystic path may see visions or have other experiences of the divine. Interestingly, the Christian approach is not that the contemplative life will lead to visions but that the person who experiences such divine phenomena will want to lead the contemplative life and seek ever closer union with God, longing to have the ultimate vision, to see God as He is. The experience is not one that can be "earned", since all have sinned and fall short of the ideal, but something arising from God's grace. Christian mystics have often been so-called "ordinary" people who have received their mystic vocation as a divine gift. An example is Mother Julian of Norwich who, despite the severe illness and subsequent visions which she had, in fact, prayed for and then forgotten, comes over as a very homely and practical person who, as an anchoress, dispensed advice to and blessed those who came to her. This passing on the blessing to others and engaging in other good works is also intrinsic to Christianity.
In Roman Catholicism, the mystic experience is often closely connected with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ, and reports of visions of the Virgin Mary, often connected with one particular place, are relatively common. Such experiences are reported even by young children but are subjected to considerable scrutiny by the Church before they are accepted as valid.
One relatively modern phenomenon, or one that appears to have been dormant for centuries but has re-appeared, is being "born again" in Christ, as experienced by members of evangelical, charismatic and fundamentalist movements within the Church. They report a number of mystical experiences or "charisms" such as speaking in tongues and being slain in the Spirit. This may be related to the movements among African churches and those whose congregations are of African origin, even with such non-Christian practices as [vodoun]
which nonetheless have Christian components.
Another twentieth century mystical approach within Christianity has lead to inter-faith dialogue and a comparison of experiences among those of different religions and, indeed, of no religion. The concept of the [Cosmic Christ]
and [cosmic consciousness]
as described by, for example, Teilhard de Chardin and Matthew Fox, has related to the common experience of many.
Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism, is distinctive in having many religious orders whose members leave behind the things of the world to devote their lives totally to their Lord. Although some orders work more at the practical or discursive level, others are designed to lead the contemplative on the path of such mystics as St Teresa of Avila or St John of the Cross. Examples are the Trappists (strict Cistercians), who practice silence except for prayer and worship.
