Solitary Soul

BE HUMAN BE HOLY – THE RELEVANCE OF DON BOSCO’S SPIRITUALITY FOR TODAY Mario D’Couto             Don Bosco told Dominic Savio that it is easy to be a saint. Unfortunately, Dominic Savio thought that he had to do a lot of hard penances in order to win God’s approval. So he would put hard stones under his bed or wear a hair shirt inside in order to make life tough and challenging for him. This went on for some time until Don Bosco came to know about it.             On coming to know what Dominic Savio was doing, Don Bosco dissuaded him immediately saying that one does not have to do such things in order to please God. God does not want all those things but He certainly wants us to be loving and genuine. It is thus that for Don Bosco everybody is meant to be a saint as he would say, “God wants us to be saints and it is not difficult to be a saint.”   ...

Authentic/Inauthentic mysticism Cl. Mario D’Couto sdb             How do we judge whether a mystical experience is authentic or not? Given the fact that mysticism is a wide phenomenon found in every religion practically, it is certain that there is a wide variety of opinions as to what authentic mysticism is. As a Christian, I would like to share what mysticism means from a Christian standpoint.             In the Christian tradition, there have been many scholars and doctors of the Church who have written about mysticism. Even philosophers like (mostly Christian) have written about mysticism. One thing common that can be  pointed out among all their writings is that it was always a pointer towards something beyond; something beyond this physical world and thus it is because of this that mysticism is a mystery.        ...

CHRISTIAN AND BUDDHIST MYSTICISM Cl. Mario D’Couto sdb           Mysticism is in a way a universal phenomenon which is found in every religion and the understanding of it differs depending on which religion one is talking about. This obviously implies in other words that there is a lot that can be spoken or written about. Yet, I would like to restrict myself to Christian and Buddhist mysticism since this article is a personal reflection that I came up with after I read William Johnston’s book, “The Wounded Stag.”             Mysticism is indeed a universal phenomenon because every religion is a unique pathway to the One who created everything. While in Buddhism, the focus is on self – knowledge where enlightment is achieved by self – effort, Christian mysticism is about God revealing Himself to us. It is for this reason that God’s revelation is considered as a grace and a gi...