Ethics and Mysticism

Ethics

Is the Branch of knowledge that deals with

moral principles.
A moral Principles that govern a person’s
behavior or the conducting of an activity.
 Mysticism
 Also known as the direct knowledge to religion. We
see mysticism in all human activities and
aspirations seeking contact or lasting union with
the divine, as in prayer, sacrifice and all forms of
worship offered by humans to God.
 Ethics and Mysticism
according to Christians way;
1. Man seek his own perfection which he can find only in an all-perfect being,
the boundless good.
2. The absolutely ultimate end of all human activities is found in bliss or
beatitude, the possession of and union with the Summum Bonum.
3. The ultimate norm of morality of human acts is the Divine Nature, the
Divine Pattern or Model for Human actions.
4. The two are inseparable as means and end. It is absolutely necessary that
we lead a good upright life, as demanded by ethics, in order that we can
be united with the All Holy One.
The ultimate Relation between
Ethics and Mysticism

 BOUNDLESS GOOD
 SUMMUM BONUM
 SUPREME PURPOSE
OF HUMAN BEING
 UNIVERSAL AS
MANKIND
Difference Between Ethics and Mysticism

ETHICS MYSTICISM
 NORMATIVE  NOT NORMATIVE
 PRESCRIBE RULE OF  FREE WAY
ACTION TO BE
FOLLOWED
 Morality and Mysticism
 Morality requires the constant observance of the moral Law.
Observance of the moral law requires that the will of the subject be in
constant conformity with that of the Law giver.
 In all his actions he has to say “not my will but Yours, the Supreme
Law, must prevail”. Thus in the life of the moral man there is constant
and enduring conformity, and hence, union of two wills, the human
and divine, harmonized or identified in all his (man’s) actions, his life.
 According to the moral Philosophy , the absolutely ultimate end of all
humans volitional activities is beatitude in God.
 Mysticism, like Ethics, is thus as universal as mankind. It is found in
all times, in all places, in all Religion of the world.
 Different Ways toward Divine Union
the Christian Way
 By receiving God in the Holy Communion
 Meditation and Contemplation of the Divine truths.
 Constant Imitation of the Divine Model
 Foremost and Above all – LOVE
 Mystic Prayer

 Another Christians approach to divine union is through mystic

prayer. This approach is described by Sta. Teresa de Avila,
one of the greatest mystic of all times, in her greatest work
“The Interior Castle”.
 According to here, the figure used here finds support in the
words of the Bible: “Know you that you are the temple of God
and that the Holy Spirit Resides in you”.
Love and Unselfishness
What do you mean by Love?

 “By love or by loving, you are made children of

God, and participants of His Divine Nature.”
Biblically, according to John (1-4) God is Love, and
the very nature of God is Love.
 Love is never selfish. It always shares its
goodness with another. The lover never keeps his
love to himself, by perfect love we become one
with who is love. This is likewise the Christian view
and definition of Love.
What it Means to be Unselfish?

 To be Unselfish is to be your true self, or to return

to your true self. This sounds paradoxical, so let us
resolve the seeming antimony or contradiction by
explaining the term self.
 We see and distinguish between two selves in the
life of a human being: the true self as made by
God, centered in God and destined for God; and
the false, self-centered, self seeking, tending to
separate itself from God.
 To be unselfish, to be one and unite oneself with
the One means that one has to detach oneself
from anything that gets one apart from God, and
make God the very center and absolute owner of
his soul and all things as He should be.
 Unselfishness and Desireless

Unselfishness
 The quality of not putting yourself first but being willing to
give your time or money or effort for others.
Desireless
 Means not to desire anything for sense gratification.
GOD-CENTERED LIVING
What is God-Centered Living?

 We are made by God. We are not our own. A God-

Centered life is the only that is worth of the name
of life. Life lived for God, centered upon God, is the
life that not only honors God, but the life that
paradoxically, most fulfills us too.
 Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self
(Repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our
lives to forgive our sins and to make us the kind of
people He want us to be.
 Four Words to understand Christ
Centered Life
SOURCE
A Christ-Centered life begins with realizing that the source of
everything we are is the LORD. He created us, He owns us, and
every blessing that we receive comes from HIM (Gen 1, Acts
17:26, James 1:17).
MOTIVE
A Christ-Centered life means that a person is the motivation for
everything we think, say and do. A Christ-Centered life is deeply
intimate and motivated by relationship.
GOAL
A Christ-Centered life has one ultimate goal: That Jesus gets the
Glory. It’s not wrong to pursue personal goals, but the Glory of
Christ is the orienting compass that gives direction to all others.
HOPE
a Christ-Centered life finally puts all our eggs in the basket of the
LORD. A Christ-Centered life is more than just a ticket out of hell.
We have Hope in the here and now, because Christ has promised
His presence and Grace until we go home.