Mystagogy has long been known as a catechesis to help the newly initiated deepen their understanding of sacramental experiences. In the ancient world, mystagogy was the way in which elders, that is mystagogues, helped candidates to identify and reflect on the hidden mysteries within their experience and the practices of their community. Mystagogical praxis was an essential interpretive frame of reference for discerning Christian mystery. I suggest that mystagogy is an ideal contribution from the pedagogy of the early church for our time, enabling religious educators to navigate the challenges of the postmodern context—one that is becoming increasingly secular, abstract, rational, and flat. This paper argues that mystagogy is a life-long process that enables Christians to “sniff out grace” and be all the more likely to discern the sacred and sacramental that inheres to daily life. Moreover, mystagogy allows for both a deeper engagement with the Christian tradition, and an invitation to those of other faiths (or none at all) to discern the Transcendent Horizon of our existence. This study will explore the roots of mystagogy within our tradition—where does it come from and how has it developed? That exploration of origins will consider the model of recollect, recognize, and relate that emerges as a constitutive pattern of mystagogy and practical application of this pattern in contemporary educating for faith.

长期以来，神秘学一直被认为是一种分类学，可以帮助新近加深他们对圣餐经历的理解。在古代世界中，神秘主义是长者（即神秘主义者）帮助求职者识别和反思他们的经验和社区实践中隐藏的奥秘的方式。认识论的实践是辨别基督教奥秘的重要解释框架。我认为，神秘主义是早期教会的教学法对我们时代的理想贡献，它使宗教教育者能够应对后现代语境的挑战-后世语境正日益世俗化，抽象化，理性化和扁平化。本文认为神秘主义是终生的使基督徒能够“嗅出恩典”并更有可能辨别日常生活中神圣神圣的过程。此外，神秘主义既可以使人们更深入地参与基督教传统，又可以邀请其他信仰的宗教（或根本没有宗教信仰）来了解我们存在的先验视野。这项研究将探索神秘主义在我们传统中的根源-它来自何处以及如何发展？对起源的探索将考虑回忆，认识和联系的模型，这是神秘主义的本构模式，并且是这种模式在当代信仰教育中的实际应用。