San Juan de la Cruz

Nov. 24 – St. John of the Cross, confessor and doctor; St. Chrysogonus, martyr; Sts. Flora & Mary, virgins & martyrs (Hist)

“With what procrastinations do you wait, since from this very moment you can love God in your heart?” ~ St. John of the Cross, Prayer of a Soul Taken with Love

John of the Cross was born near Avila in Spain in 1542. Educated by the Jesuits, he entered the Carmelite Order at the age of 21. He felt attracted to the life of a Carthusian, but Teresa of Avila asked him to co-operate with her in the restoration of the primitive Carmelite rule. After John established several monasteries of Discalced Carmelites, those opposed to the reform had him imprisoned at Toledo. During the nine months of his imprisonment, he wrote many of the poems and prose works that have made him one of the foremost authorities on mysticism in the West. He had asked God for suffering, and he received an abundance of both physical and spiritual torment right up to his death in 1591.

Lord,
you endowed our Father Saint John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. ~ Prayer from the Proper

Resources:

• St. John of the Cross Bio for Kids
• The Works of St. John of the Cross – an outline of St. John, an intro to his works and links to his complete writings (including the Dark Night of the Soul)
• Ascent of Mt. Carmel – electronic version.  “This treatise explains how to reach divine union quickly. It presents instruction and doctrine valuable for beginners and proficients alike that they may learn how to unburden themselves of all earthly things, avoid spiritual obstacles, and live in that complete nakedness and freedom of spirit necessary for divine union.”  ~ Saint John of the Cross
• Sayings of Light and Love – John of the Cross’s teaching first comes in these hard, clean, unsentimental sayings that overflow with spiritual wisdom. They give to their recipients treasures that must first be unlocked; as maxims they were to be repeated and mulled over.
• Saint John of the Cross – Reformer – Mystic – short story by Bob and Penny Lord
• The Self-Portrait of St. John of the Cross – EWTN
• St. John of the Cross – St. of the Day Audio
• Litany of Saint John of the Cross

“Preserve a loving attentiveness to God with no desire to feel or understand any particular thing concerning him.”  ~ St. John of the Cross, The Sayings of Light and Love. #88