ABSTRACT
This chapter deepens the theological conversation between the Christian mystical tradition and the lives of the eight gay men. It considers the further visions, lessons, and challenges they faced as they explored new ways of integrating sexuality and spirituality as adults. It studies the mystical stage called the Illuminative Way, reframing it in light of the ways these men lived out their mature sense of vocation and their on-going desire for embodied integration. This unfolds into a reflection on the nature of mature faith, sexuality, and theoria physike and a discussion of how the Illuminative Way might be re-imagined in contemporary contexts. In their mature years, several of these men encountered profound spiritual darkness, and the latter part of this chapter considers how their lives could offer new insights into the Dark Night of the Soul as it might be lived today. The chapter concludes with a reflection on contemporary images of mystical union, or the Unitive Way, that emerge from the inner journeys of these men.
