Vatican City – The “extraordinary phenomena,” which can accompany particolar mystical experiences, are never “indispensable prerequisites for the recognition of a believer’s holiness.” And when they occur, they should not be understood as “individual privileges,” since they serve “the edification of the whole Church, the mystical Body of Christ.”
Pope Leo XIV reiterated this today, emphasizing the value of the “ordinary path,” accessible to all, through which one can become and remain a Christian.
The occasion for these valuable reflections by the Bishop of Rome was the Congress on Mysticism, Mystical Phenomena, and Holiness, organized in Rome by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Upon receiving the participants of the Congress this morning in the Paul VI Hall, the Pontiff delivered a brief but powerful address, in which he also referred to “manifestations that can be deceptive,” reminding them that “in order not to fall into superstitious illusion, it is necessary to evaluate such events prudently, through humble discernment and in accordance with the teaching of the Church.”
Through theological reflection, preaching, and catechesis, Pope Prevost emphasized at the beginning of his address, “the Church has recognized for centuries that at the heart of the mystical life lies the awareness of the intimate union of love with God. This event of grace is manifested in the fruits it produces, according to the words of the Lord: ‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from brambles’.”
In ecclesial communion, each person’s mystical experience, “which transcends mere rational knowledge,” when it occurs, is lived “not by the merit of the one who experiences it, but as a spiritual gift, which can manifest itself in various ways, even in opposite ways: as luminous visions or dense darkness, afflictions or ecstasies.” In any case, “these exceptional events remain secondary and not essential with respect to mysticism and holiness itself: they can be signs, insofar as they are particular charisms, but the true goal”- the Pope reiterated, quoting Saint Augustine—”is and remains communion with God, who is ‘interior intimo meo et superior summo meo’.”
Also in the work carried out during the Canonization processes for the proclamation of new saints – the Successor of Peter continued – “what matters most and must be emphasized in the examination of candidates for sainthood is their full and constant conformity with the will of God, revealed in Scripture and in the living Apostolic Tradition. It is important, therefore, to maintain balance: just as Causes of Canonization should not be promoted solely because of the presence of exceptional phenomena, neither should they be penalized if such phenomena characterized the lives of the Servants of God.”
For this reason, “with constant dedication, the Magisterium, theology, and spiritual writers have provided criteria for distinguishing authentic spiritual phenomena, which can occur in an atmosphere of prayer and a sincere search for God, from manifestations that may prove deceptive.” Pope Prevost also quoted a passage from Teresa of Avila, the the Spanish saint whose life was marked by extraordinary mystical experiences: “It is clear that the highest perfection does not consist in interior delights, nor in sublime raptures, nor in visions, nor in having the spirit of prophecy, but in making our will so conformable with the will of God, that whatever we know He shall desire, that also we shall desire with our whole affection; and we shall receive what is bitter as joyfully as what is sweet and pleasant, remembering that such is the will of His Divine Majesty.”
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