Mysticism and Spirituality Comparison of Two Women: Catherine of Sienna and Julian of Norwich Spirituality and Mysticism

The relationship between mysticism and spiritualism is one question that often arises in the modern study on the concept of spirituality. In large terms, most modern Western techniques often treat mysticism and spirituality like synonyms. Spirituality means the exploration of the depth of human existence, the main purpose of life and the search for a more in-depth wisdom. Summarily, it is easier to understand spirituality when it is treated as the larger concept. Mysticism is only an aspect of Christian spirituality- a way of intensifying the spiritual path of Christianity. It is quite necessary to note that the significant role of mysticism and spirituality is quite ambiguous. Most Christian traditions like the Western Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox value most of these aspects greatly (Sheldrake 8-9).

Catherine of Sienna

Devotional Practices

Catherine, who lived between 1347 and 1380, created a part of the culture in spirituality history under which women molded by mystical experiences became forces to reckon with in the politics played at that time and the spiritual supervision of officials of the church. Incidentally, these women equally gained a huge influence in the main spiritual issues of the day. Women under this culture included Bingen's Hildegard who lived in the 12th century, Magdeburg's Mechthilde who lived in the 13th century, and Sweden's Bridget who lived in the 14th century (Villegas 22). By the time she turned 18, Catherine became known as Dominican Mantellata (the matellate were a set of widows who provided support for the poor and sick people in Siena and were in affiliation with the Dominicans). While still living at home, the next three years of her life were mostly spent in prayer and solitude. Through her meditative experience, she felt a stronger will to become a part of the work done by the mantellate. Following the guidance and urgings she got through prayers, she increasingly got involved with more people and a large number of issues touching on spirituality, politics and social matters. She played the role of a spiritual mother to the numerous people who assembled in her room in her father's house; she acted as a mediator between rival families; she made efforts to mediate with and affect city state leaders; she offered advice to highly placed church leaders like the pope, the cardinals and several other church leaders (Villegas 22).

In Catherine's writing on what the church requires as a prerequisite for becoming a doctor of the church, Suzanne Noffte offers a very beneficial rubric for taking Catherine's theological contributions into considerations. The prerequisites for canonization involve righteousness, the testimonies of popes or the general councils, and renowned teachings. Digging into the natural gifts Catherine had, the nature of her theology is unearthed by Noffte. Firstly, she is not academic, though she was one of those few whose ideas were heavily included in academic developments; she is far more imagistic than most of the writers that existed during her days; and she kept on with the teaching of the famous magisterium. The tone of her letters and the manner in which she passed her messages was driven by the imagistic nature of her relationship with God-she utilized the imaginary she saw in the Bible and the Christian culture to provide direction to the advice she gave (Dickens 161).

Catherine offered most sermons, such as penitential sermons, which was said to have stirred up the spirit of repentance in all who heard her message. Pope Gregory Xl made special apostolic letters available to allow Raimondo da Capua and his two fellow priests to pardon people who visited Catherine and longed to confess. In her letters, Catherine emphasized the need for every Christian to engage in charity work, which she gave example of by taking care of sick people, mostly during the years of the plague in 1374 and I375 (Allen 224-230).

Mystical Experiences

In every one of her public works, intense mystical experiences sustained Catherine. In times of prayer, she was often thrown into unconsciousness like one in rapture or trance. Certainly, in the letters she wrote, and maybe in her sermons as well, Catherine got translated into an ecstatic world. During one of such experiences, she saw a vision of herself being betrothed to Christ. For medieval people, this was a very familiar image. To Catherine, it stood for the union man has with God, which every mystic dreamed of having through serious and affectionate contemplation.

Mystical experience often led Catherine back into the service world. Virtuous actions were carried out for the sake of God alone. "Loving me for your own sake is not the important thing, or loving your neighbor for your own sake, but loving Me for Myself, loving yourself for Myself, and loving your neighbor for Myself" (Marshall).
In spite of living in the suppressive aspect of the Christian mysticism in the middle of the 14th century, Catherine of Siena experienced two main mystical marriage events. The first one happened when she turned 21 and had a vision of Jesus placing a ring on her finger while Paul, Virgin Mary, and other relevant saintly figures in the bible watched (Fanning 129-130). The second vision Catherine had, and probably the most graphic one, involved the opening of her body's left side by Jesus and replacing her heart with his, joining them together forever. This close visionary experience was the main reason for the authority of Catherine within the papal politics of the 14th century (Pangle 3).

While the life of Catherine was after the controversies of the 12th century, which contrasted the knowledge gotten through mystical consideration and understanding dialectics and reasons, the knowledge that earned her the title of the Doctor of the Church is mystical. This knowledge is a reflection of the wisdom Thomas Aquinas described, a knowledge brought about by the Holy Spirit through an intimate relationship with God. Most singular natural gifts favored that assimilation, but it was equally something extraordinary, as a result of a charism of wisdom inspired by the Holy Spirit, a mystic charism. Catherine believed her wisdom was a direct gift from God. Her mystical knowledge was a combination with a theological structure that was borne of spiritual direction, what she preached, and spiritual readings (Villegas 24-35).

The teachings of Catherine on discernment go far beyond aspects of the tradition of discretion as her wisdom of discernment and the central theme were intertwined: getting the knowledge of truth and love, and living that way. Under these contexts, discernment is no longer one of so many virtues, or the virtue that directs other virtues. Instead, discernment is an attendant fruit of the capacity of an individual for truth and love, capacities that formed the main purpose of the person's creation. The capacity for equality and discernment, as it were the discernment of a person is tied in an extricable way to the conversion process and the development of their potential for love and truth (Villegas 27-35).

The more an individual gets transformed into another Christ, the more her ability to discover pure truth and what is due to love gets activated; dialectically, the more the individual comes to understand the real truth about God and her own self, the more she yearns for that transformation. "Everyone of these insights is clearly elaborated in every one of her works; Catherine emphasized that as the individual grows into a relationship with God (charity), her desire gets transformed. Such desire transformations lead to the capacity to discover and choose what is truly good. Thus, Catherine recognized varied levels of discernment capacity, when discernment got more advanced; it is the unique example of the gift of wisdom as exemplified by her. When the capacity of a person for love and truth gets more orderly, she discovers and selects from connaturality with God (Villegas 28-37).

Catherine's life was during an era when some outstanding women started assuming roles of spiritual mentors with political roles and international importance, just like the case with Sweden's Birgitta. The broader vocational chances did not just affect her self-perceptions, but equally changed how she saw Christ. Christ was not just a bridegroom or a bride. To Catherine, love was the ultimate, but nuptial metaphors and sexual relationships were not among the most predominant metaphor for her union with Christ. To her, He was her teacher, the object of her ecstasies, her bridegroom and most importantly, the suffering savior. Catherine depicted Christ using multiplicity of images: A Fountain, the tree of life, a knight, a lion, a lamb, an eagle, a bed, and a bridge. Her letters show how she tasted the blood of Christ in her mouth for several days on a stretch and perceiving the smell of sin. In the discourse, she draws a picture of Christ as a bridge, and gives minute details of her image, describing the relevance of…