Tag Archive for ‘St John of the Cross’

St John of the Cross – Part 4 of 5

The Ascent of Mount Carmel There are three components to the Ascent: the sketch of the Mountain, which is a drawing by St John, with explanatory notes; secondly, the poem of eight stanzas; and the commentary on the poem, which consists of three books. This was the first of his major works. The poem was […]

St John of the Cross

The Living Flame of Love Part 3 of 5 The next major work of St John of the Cross and his last, is called The Living Flame of Love, a poem, only twenty-four lines long, and his commentary. It tells the story of the fulfilment of love, the spiritual marriage, the final transformation by God. […]

St John of the Cross

Part 1 of 5 St John of the Cross was born in 1542 in Spain and died there in 1591. He was canonised in 1726 and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1926. Today he is a largely unknown religious figure. People begin reading the Dark Night and soon give up. He seems to […]

Christian Contemplation in John of the Cross

In previous chapters I have already touched on John of the Cross. At this point I would like to develop what has already been said at greater length.  We must attune ourselves first to John’s terminology. John assumes that we start the life of prayer by discursive meditation on the gospel and on Christian doctrine. […]