St. John of the Cross

CIN ^ | Kurt F. Reinhardt

[JMJ333]

Dark Night of the Soul, by John of the Cross

[JMJ333]

I am early, as his feast day isn't until November, but I thought this was a nice article.

Lord,

you endowed St. John of the Cross
with a spirit of self-denial and love of the cross.
By following his example
may we come to the eternal vision of your glory.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

[JMJ333]

Poetry of John of the Cross

[JMJ333]

Letters of John of the Cross

[JMJ333]

Ascent of Mt. Carmel

[JMJ333]

My first link didn't work..sorry!

Dark Night of the Soul

[Lady In Blue]

Thank you very much for this beautiful thread.That picture at the top of Christ Crucified is absolutely gorgeous! The Discalced Carmelites are my favorite order. I just love them.St.John of the Cross pray for us!

[JMJ333]

Thank you also. The picture at the top is probably the most popular painting of Salvador Dali. I liked it so much I am using it as a screen saver. =)

[drstevej]

***I liked it so much I am using it as a screen saver. =)***

When the screen saver comes on it's, "Hello, Dali!" :-)

Sorry, I really am dreadfully sorry.

[JMJ333]

It's quite all right. I am glad to see you and hope you are doing well tonight. =)

[RnMomof7]

I have seen that work of art before it really hits me..I think that is what God saw from the heavens

It just made me think of the fact that when Moses tabernacle moved with the tribes protecting it as God looked down he saw a cross

Thank you Jesus for taking my penalty for me..Amen

[JMJ333]

Lovely contribution, Rn. Indeed, it is a humbling picture and reminds us how much our Lord suffered for us. Thanks for posting.

[drstevej]

Doing well. I do like the Dali painting too.
Blessings to you and yours,
Steve

[Salvation]

What a beautiful picture that is. The sacrifice in that picture is what has saved me. Thank you, Jesus.

[Sock]

St. John of the Cross is another one of my favorite Doctors of the Church. Here’s a little story about him.

The bible was the book he cherished most of all; he loved to withdraw to hidden parts of the monastery with his bible. The Gospels, chiefly helped him to enter into intimacy with the three Persons of the Trinity. He so fully understood that in His Son the Father had spoken and revealed everything and that hidden in Christ were all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God. There was no need for him, therefore, when he was in Lisbon to accompany a group of friars on a visit to the famed stigmatic who lived in that city; he had his Bible, and he remained reading and reflecting upon it along the shore of the sea while his companions went off to satisfy their curiosity.

This story is incredible to us moderns but completely understandable if you’ve read his theology.

"Faith darkens and empties the intellect of all its natural understanding and thereby prepares it for union with the divine wisdom.

"Hope empties and withdraws the memory from all creature possessions, for as St. Paul says, hope is for that which is not possessed. [Rom. 8:24] It withdraws the memory from what can be possessed and fixes it on that for which it hopes. Hence, only hope in God prepares the memory perfectly for union with Him.

"Charity also empties and annihilates the affections and appetites of the will of whatever is not God and centers them on Him alone. Thus charity prepares the will and unites it with God through love."

From "The Dark Night"-Book II Chapter 21: 11.

[JMJ333]

Yes, and St. John was so very blessed to have been given such a vision!

[JMJ333]

Thank you. I started reading "Ascent from Carmel" last night after posting this, which I believe is the precurser to Dark Night of the Soul. That one is next on my list. ;)

[My2Cents]

St. John of the Cross' "Dark Night of the Soul" helped me through my own dark night about 15 years ago. As a Protestant, I must affirm the value of this and many other Catholic mystics.

[JMJ333]

Thank you for sharing that. We all have those "dark nights" and I am so glad that there is something to look to that helps us get through these hard times, when we feel we can find no human support. =)

[JMJ333]

I thought you might enjoy this one as well! Regards. =)