The Future of Our Past: The Spanish Mystics Speak to Contemporary Spirituality

The Future of Our Past. Stressing the important relationship of the best Christian mystical tradition- Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Ignatius Loyola - to current spiritual and social challenges, Father Galilea points the way to a practical synthesis of contemplation and commitment as he evaluates that tradition in terms of today's spiritual quest. "The experience of God is a decisive fact in our lives, one that includes the whole gamut of human experience," he writes. "Social liberation and inner liberation go hand in hand as justice and asceticism go hand in hand." He brings a strong spiritual sense to the thinking of liberation theology and its ensuing commitments by showing that the mystics have much to say that can help us shape our social consciousness into a spirituality. True liberation cannot be found in merely political or social solutions, but only in the gospel values of Christ. The essence of Christian spirituality is the search for God in faith and love. We must pray, he says, and we must extend our prayer into living in imitation of the Lord. From that flows liberation and life in the kingdom.