St.

John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross

Nyein Aye Thu

Religion 299

Professor Fred Allen

William Penn University

February 22, 2010

St. John of the Cross

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St. John of the Cross

Biography of St. John of the Cross

St. John of the Cross was born in 1542 in Fontiveros, Spain. He was the youngest son of

Yepes family. His father, Gonzalo de Yepes, came from a noble family, and was disowned from

his family when he married to Catilina, the poor orphan. St. John of the Cross and his brothers

went through lots of hardships since they were born. The death of their father in 1543 made them

worse. According to the post that Geoffrey K. Mondello from <www.johnofthecross.com>, he

depicted the life of St. John of the Cross as follow:

During this period, John had acquired some instruction, but no

great proficiency, in several trades with an eye toward some
practical vocation, but it was really in his youthful office as acolyte
at the Convent of Augustinian Nuns, where he served in the
sacristy each morning, and not infrequently elsewhere among other
duties in the afternoon, that John’s lifelong love of the Church very
likely began. The often long and solitary hours spent in obligations
within the sacristy undoubtedly imbued the young John with a
keen sense of the sacred and an early formative acquaintance with
an atmosphere of introspective contemplation.
When he became sixteen, he pursued his education at Jesuit College at Medino del

Campo. After his four years of liberal education at the Jesuit College, he continued his education

at University of Salamanca. That is when he became interested in mysticism. During his

academic years at the University of Salamanca, he was a distinguished person. His school mates

were intimidated by his reserved behavior but they all admired him. Moreover he lived an

austere life. St. John of the Cross spent most of his time in his dark and small room, studying or

praying.. Moreover, his school mates noticed the blood stained shirts his bedroom. “They saw his

bed, a kind of trough without a mattress, with a piece of wood as pillow. They even saw him

sleep, like St Alexis, on a board under a staircase” (Crisogono de Jesus).

He had a very important turning point when St. Teresa of Avila visited the University of

Salamanca in order to change the Carmelite Order. He was deeply inspired by St. Teresa and

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followed her as her disciple in 1567. Both St. Teresa and St. John of the Cross worked hard to

reform the Carmelites Order through reformed convents. Of course, it was no way near to the

smooth victory or success. There were lots of challenges from many aspects such as torturing

from Lucifer while he was exorcising the possessed nun. Moreover, St. John of the Cross was

kidnapped and sent to prison where he had to spend in the tiny cell with only one small window.

He went through a lot of sufferings and hardships; however, he did not give up and kept his faith

to God.

After he escaped from the prison, he did not stop achieving his goal. He kept on

spreading the Word of God, and the philosophy and mysticism of him became more and more

popular. St. John of the Cross died in 1591 due to the severe illness.

Historical Context

Starting from the 13th century in Europe, the followers of Carmelites Order was

expanding numerously. The Carmelites started from the hermits in Mount Carmel. There are, of

course, role figures from the Bible. The spiritual roots of the Carmelites began from Prophet

Elijah and Mary, mother of Jesus. These two great figures “have helped the community see how

to be contemplative and active; prayerful and prophetic; reflective and apostolic”

(www.carmelites.net).

The Order of Carmelites went through several changes in their Rule. For instance, the

“Franciscan Friars were allowed to eat meat three days a week; fasting and abstinence were

further modified” (www.carmelites.net). This modified traditions caused some of the members

dissatisfied. Therefore, there was the division within the Order. That was when the roles of St.

Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross came in. Their goal was to restore the Order into the

original ways, resembled by barefoot simplicity.

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Key Writings and Mysticism of St. John of the Cross

As mentioned above in the Biography section, St. John of the Cross was imprisoned

because of his effort to reform the Order. Although he was tortured in the prison and was given

tiny cell with small window, he found his peace in God. After six months in the prison, he was

allowed to have “oil and lamp, and more importantly, paper and ink upon which to write”

(Modello). At that time, he composed his first poem Spiritual Canticle and several other less

popular poems. Two months later, he escaped from the prison miraculously. After that, he

continued writing and produced his most famous poems The Dark Night of the Soul and The

Ascent of Mount Carmel.

St. John of the Cross tended to write the expression “the dark night of the soul” often. It

became inseparable. The first stanza of The Ascent of Mount Carmel is:

On a dark night, Kindled in love with yearnings –

Oh, happy chance! –
I went forth without being observed, My house being now at rest.
The other stanzas were similar to the first one. Although the poem was short in length, it

conveys a very deep meaning and guide to the union with God. According to St. John of the

Cross, “for a soul to attain to the state of perfection has to pass through two principal kinds of

night” (Peers, pg.20). Those nights include purgation or purifications of the soul. In order to

unite with God, every soul has to go through first night of purgation (sensual part of soul), and

second night of purgation (spiritual part of soul). The definition of “night” by St. John of the

Cross is the soul to union with God.

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The Ascent of Mount Carmel is simply the guide to start the climb the mountain for the

union with God which is at the top of the mountain. The brief summary or journey towards God

can be described as:

We can give three reasons for calling the journey toward union
with God a “night. 1. Individuals at the point of departure must
deprive themselves of their appetite for worldly possessions, like a
night for all the senses. 2. The road is faith, and this is night for the
intellect. 3. The point of arrival is God, and God is also a dark
night to the soul in this life.
If we try to unfold these stages thoroughly, we can see a very convincing mystical

approach.

The first stage, which is the night of senses, is to cast away the attachments to the worldly

things and desires. “Empty your spirit of all created things…Created things cannot be a ladder to

the divine, they are rather a hindrance” (Macquarrie, pg. 176).

The next stage is the night of spirit. That is when we have to give ourselves to God, and

listen to God passively. “We let go of the intellect, we do not seek visions or consolations”

(Macquarrie, pg. 176).

Finally St. John of the Cross sees the soul unites with God with mystical marriage. Based

on the Song of Songs, it is the relationship between bride and bridegroom. This is the final

destination of the soul.

Conclusion

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St. John of the Cross was one of the most influential and famous mystics in the 16 th

century in Spain. When I read about his life and work, I could see his strong perseverance. He

stood firmly for what he believed although he went through sufferings and hardships. The

normal person would not be able to love God in his situation; rather that person would blame

God to punish him like this. Therefore, he is a very important role figure that everyone should

follow.

However, I could also see that he is a zealot. When I read his book the Ascent of Mount

Carmel, he suggested the detachment from desires and to become Christ-like. This would be a

very difficult thing to do from me, personally. I would also have to admit that the writing of St.

John of the Cross has deep meanings and it is hard to interpret. Finally, he is one of the mystics I

admire and I am willing to know more about him and try to understand his deep meaning

writings.

References

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St. John of the Cross (1958) Ascent of Mount Carmel (E. Allison Peers, Trans. 3rd ed.). Garden

City, New York: Image Books Edition, A Division of Doubleday & Company, Inc.

De Jesus, Crisogono (1958). The Life of St. John of the Cross (Kathleen Pond, Trans.). New

York: Harper & Brothers. (Original work published 1955)

Macquarrie, John (2005). Two Worlds Are Ours. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Pg. 167-177

Mondello, Geoffrey (2010) The Metaphysics of Mysticism. Retrieved from

http://www.johnofthecross.com

Order of Carmelites (2010). Retrieved from www.carmelites.net