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Document Details : Title: The True Truth (Book of Life 21,9) Subtitle: Teresian Comprehension of Mystical Experience Author(s): OFILADA MINA, Macario Journal: Studies in Spirituality Volume: 25 Date: 2015 Pages: 223-246 DOI: 10.2143/SIS.25.0.3112894 Abstract : Saint Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) is a classical representative of Western and Christian mysticism. Though her writings are clearly narrative, with doctrinal implications, she offers us an explicit understanding of Christian mystical experience, within the context of a Christian way of life or spirituality. Parting from important presuppositions, such as the fact that she views all mystical experiences as a gift from God, and conscious of her mystagogical task, this essay explores a key text from the Book of Life, in which Teresa gives a blueprint and coordinates for an understanding, from a Christian viewpoint, of what mystical experience is all about. Indeed, based on this exploration, we could say that for Teresa genuine Christian mystical experience denotes a spirituality of truth, beyond the mere theoretical constructs of philosophers (which affirm that truth is correspondence) by affirming that truth opens up a way, that it is an experiential history. |
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