Baronius Press Classics
1 total work
St John of the Cross joined the Carmelite order in 1564. A contemporary of Tereasa of Avila, his involvement with her reform of the order led to his arrest and eventual banishment to a monastery at Toledo. He was kept in a dark cell without any human contact and fed only bread and water. After eight months he escaped and went into hiding for two years. During his captivity and exile he had frequent visions of God and composed in his mind many mystical poems upon which he later wrote commentaries. Two of the greatest are "The Dark Night of the Soul" and "The Living Flame". "The Dark Night of the Soul" features John's most famous symbol, in which the absence of God is painfully felt but which immediately precedes union with God. "The Living Flame" considers the divine illumination that follows the dark night, describing the happiness and peace experienced by the soul devoted to God.