The St. Augustine reading club to which I belong is reading the Confessions and we noted the mystical event he had with his mother, St. Monica. Perhaps you have seen the 1854 (or the 1845 original) painting held by the National Gallery, London, by Ary Scheffer of Saint Augustine and his mother, Saint Monica, sitting next to each other, holding hands, both looking heavenward (see it here). It depicts what is called “the Vision of Ostia.”

Augustine had been baptized at the all-night Easter Vigil, April 24-25, 387, in Milan. A few months later, intent on relocating to their roots and forming a lay community, Augustine and Monica, as well as Augustine’s son Adeodatus, Augustine’s brother Navigius, and Augustine’s friends Alypius and Evodius, all traveled to Ostia, the port city of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River. While waiting there for a ship to take them to Thagaste in north Africa, Augustine described, in his Confessions, written ten years later by which time he was bishop of nearby Hippo, the “Vision of Ostia”:

[S]he and I stood alone leaning in a window, which looked inwards to the garden within the house where we were staying…[W]e talked together, she and I alone in deep joy…discussing in the presence of Truth, which You [God] are, what the eternal life of the saints could be like, which eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man. But with the mouth of our heart we panted for the high waters of Your fountain, the fountain of the life which is with You: that being sprinkled from that fountain according to our capacity, we might in some sense meditate upon so great a matter.

And our conversation had brought us to this point, that any pleasure whatsoever of the bodily senses…seemed to us not worthy of comparison with the pleasure of that eternal Light….Rising as our love flamed upwards…, we passed in review the various levels of bodily things, up to the heavens themselves, whence sun and moon and stars shine upon this earth. And higher still we soared, thinking in our minds and speaking and marveling at Your works: and so we came to our own souls, and went beyond them to come at last to that region of richness unending…And while we were thus talking of His Wisdom and panting for it, with all the effort of our heart we did for one instant attain to touch it…

[W]e two had but now reached forth and in a flash of the mind attained to touch the eternal Wisdom which abides over all: and if this [vision] could continue…[it] should so ravish and absorb and wrap the beholder in inward joys that his life should eternally be such as that one moment of understanding for which we had been sighing (Book IX, ch. 10.23-25; F.J. Sheed, trans., 1942)

About five days later, Monica took ill and after a few days died there in Ostia.

I bring to your attention that twice in this passage Augustine used the singular, not plural, of the word heart, that is, that he and his mother were of one heart: “with the mouth of our heart we panted”; “with all the effort of our heart.” Compare this with the famous line from the opening of his Confessions in which the word heart in Latin is singular, not plural: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You” (Book I, ch. 1.1; not Sheed’s translation, which uses the plural). I also bring to your attention that Augustine saw the experience as an ascent that went step by step from creation to the inner mind and beyond. Lastly, and the point on which I want us to dwell in this essay, is that the experience was shared; it was not an individual experience alone.

In Peter Kreeft’s discussion of the Vision of Ostia in his 2016 book on the Confessions, entitled I Burned for Your Peace: Augustine’s Confessions Unpacked, he mentions that it is very rare for two souls to engage in flight simultaneously and together for a mystical encounter with God. In Christian literature, are there examples of this in addition to Saints Augustine and Monica?

Before I leave our discussion of the Vision of Ostia, however, I want to mention that Augustine wrote later in his book that he experienced mystical union, by himself, with God on occasions after the Vision of Ostia:

[S]ometimes You [God] admit me to a state of mind that I am not ordinarily in, a kind of delight which, could it ever be made permanent in me, would be hard to distinguish from the life to come. But by the weight of my imperfections I fall back again, and I am swallowed up by things customary…I would remain in that other state but am not able… (Book Ten, ch. 40.65)

There are, indeed, many reported instances of individuals experiencing mystical union with God. One famous example is when St. Thomas Aquinas had a mystical experience while celebrating Mass on the feast of St. Nicholas, December 6, 1273, in the chapel of St. Nicholas at the Dominican priory (San Domenico Church) in Naples, Italy. Afterwards, he told his secretary, Brother Reginald of Piperno, “I can write no more. All that I have written seems to me like straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me.” He did indeed stop writing his Summa theologiae and died three months later, March 7. (The first report of this experience appears in Processus canonizationis S. Thomae, The Process of the Canonization of St. Thomas, sec. 79, testimony of Reginald, p. 376, compiled during the inquiry into his sainthood in 1319.) But we look for instances of at least two people experiencing mystical union with God simultaneously.

New Testament

It would be natural for us to inquire first about New Testament figures. It would not be sufficient, of course, to see and hear Jesus. The Pharisees, scribes, Herod, Pilate, chief priests and elders did as much. This certainly did not bring them into mystical union with Jesus.

Similarly, the Gospels report that numerous people responded affirmatively when they heard Him teach “with authority” (Matt. 7:28-29; Mark 1:21-22; Luke 4:32), or saw His cures, or saw His miracle of the multiplying of loaves and fish (Matt. 14:15-21. 15:32-39; Mark 6:35-44, 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-13). And the Apostles were amazed that He calmed the seas (Matt. 8:27; Mark 4:41; Luke 8:25). But I don’t think these experiences reveal a mystical union with Jesus. Let me direct your attention to instances which I believe reveal a mystical union with Jesus. This first group deals with individuals.

• After baptizing Jesus, John the Baptist saw the Spirit descending as a dove and John declared Jesus to be “the Chosen One of God” (John 1:32-34)
• After going out to fish at Jesus’ direction and returning with so many fish their nets began to tear, Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners (Luke 5:8-10)

While all the Apostles were “overcome,” it is Peter’s response here that is of interest. He recognizes what the miracle says about Jesus and recognizes that he is kneeling directly in front of the Holy One of God.

• Peter declared Jesus was “the Christ, the son of the living God” — which Jesus Himself described as having been inspired by the Spirit, not “flesh and blood” (Matt. 16:16-17)
• Martha declared near the tomb of Lazarus that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of God, the one Who was to come into this world” (John 11:27)
• The centurion at the foot of the cross, traditionally named St. Longinus, declared after Jesus expired, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39)
• On Pentecost, several women, including Jesus’ mother Mary, and the eleven Apostles (Acts 1:13-14) were together in one room when a huge wind blew and what appeared to be tongues of fire descended upon each head, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4)
• Paul saw a light, was thrown off his horse, and heard the Lord speaking to him and instructing him (Acts 4:3-6)
• Peter was praying in Jaffa when he fell into a trance and saw heaven. He saw a large sheet lowered from heaven filled with four-legged animals, reptiles, and birds. A voice commanded him to kill and eat, but Peter refused, citing Jewish dietary laws against unclean animals. The voice replied, “What God has made clean, you must not call common” (Acts 10:9-16)
• The Book of Revelation records the visions given to John on the Greek island of Patmos by an angel sent from God (Rev. 1)

Of greater interest for the purpose of this essay are the instances where groups of people made declarations, inspired by the Holy Spirit, about Jesus, and I believe these declarations evidence mystical union with Jesus.

• The Gospel of Matthew says it was not just the centurion mentioned above but also “those with him who were guarding Jesus” who jointly made the quoted declaration (Matt. 27:54)
• After Jesus had spent two days with the people who lived in Sychar, near Jacob’s Well where Jesus had spoken with a Samaritan woman, they all declared Him to be the savior of the world (John 4:42)

In addition to these instances where groups of people made declarations inspired by the Holy Spirt perhaps evidencing mystical union with Jesus, there are instances not involving declarations where groups of people may have experienced a mystical union with Jesus.

• Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured: “His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as the light”; “dazzingly white”; “brilliant as lightning.” He spoke to Elijah and Moses. The three disciples were at a loss as to how they should respond to this, and Peter suggested erecting three tents. Then they found themselves enveloped in a cloud and hearing a divine voice (Matt. 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
• On Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” saw an angel at the tomb. “His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow.” They “ran” to tell the disciples. On their way, Jesus greeted the women. “And the women came up to Him and, falling down before Him, clasped His feet” (Matt. 28:9)
• On Easter Sunday, two disciples, one of them named Cleopas (or Clopas), were walking the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus. There are strong reasons to believe that the unnamed disciple was Cleopas’ wife, Mary, who was present at the crucifixion (John 4:25). In any case, Luke says that, after Jesus joined the two, He said, “Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself” (Luke 24:26-27; see also John 5:46: “It was I Whom Moses was writing about”). Later, over a meal, after they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, and He departed, “They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:32)

I highlight that they were in the very presence of Jesus and their hearts were burning. The movement of the heart is a telltale sign of mystical union, as it was with Saints Augustine and Monica.

St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross

Both St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) and the much younger St. John of the Cross (1542–1591) were mystics. Both are Doctors of the Church. St. Teresa is known for her autobiography The Life of Teresa of Jesus (1565) and books on contemplation, The Way of Perfection (1566) and Interior Castle (written 1577; published 1588). St. John is known for his Dark Night of the Soul (written 1577-1579; published first in manuscript form). See also Rev. Thomas Dubay, S.M. (1921-2010), Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel—on Prayer (1989).

Teresa experienced a deep conversion in 1554 while contemplating a statue of the wounded Christ. Her first “raptures” or “flights” (her terms) started in 1557/58 during episodes of great spiritual joy. They became frequent and included levitation, often starting at the very thought of the Almighty, and she would ask fellow nuns to hold her down.

Teresa and John met in the fall of 1567. From 1572-1577, John was a spiritual adviser to Teresa and her nuns at the Monaserio de la Encarnacion in Avila, Spain. In that monastery today, a wall has the Spanish inscription of Teresa’s words: “I cannot be in the presence of John without being lifted up into the presence of God.”

Ana de Jesús, a nun at the monastery, reported seeing the two saints levitate at the same time in the parlor (locutory), while they sat in chairs on opposite sides of the grille (the barrier between cloistered nuns and others), around Trinity Sunday, 1573, as they were discussing the mystery of the Trinity.

Teresa, embarrassed by her uncontrollable levitations, joked about the simultaneous levitation with John, remarking, “One cannot speak of God to Father John, because he gets carried off in ecstasy and carries others off with him.”

The instances I have described thus far are the only ones I have found in Christian literature of simultaneous flight by two souls to God. In Part 2, I look at some saintly people who possibly shared intense mystical experiences.