Prophetic mysticism
The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance. By Dorothee Soelle. Fortress, 325 pp., $20
At 19, when I was struggling to discern whether I had a vocation to the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minors), the following words flowed spontaneously out of my mouth as I prayed one night: "Lord, if it is your will for me to become a friar, I will do it." It was not an intentional utterance but seemed to come from the depths of my soul. I was amazed and not a little afraid. Moved by this experience and others, I soon found myself knocking at the door of the friary. Now, almost 30 years later, I hear that same inner voice constantly challenging me to live an authentic Franciscan life that promotes peace, justice and the integrity of creation.
Such experiences are neither illusions nor projections, Dorothee Soelle insists. They are authentic and put us in touch with the heart of reality. Unfortunately, many people have lost touch with their mystical sensitivity or dismiss it as fantasy or superstition. This loss of a sense of the mystical, Soelle claims, is at the root of our modern problems of egotism, materialism and violence.
