Sacramental Presence and Mysticism

Abstract: This essay explores the intersection of sacramentality and mysticism in McGinn’s Modern Mystics , particularly his emphasis on God’s transforming presence as central to mystical experience. Mysticism, like the sacraments, is marked by divine encounter, marginality, and mediated presence. In light of McGinn’s use of “presence” and figures like Simone Weil and Michel de Certeau, sacramental theology can be enriched by understanding mysticism as a lived, grace-filled reality, especially for those at the social and ecclesial margins, such as migrants and practitioners of popular piety.