St john of the cross book commentary

John of the cross is referred to, its title is given in italics e. John of the cross was a reformer of the carmelite order and is considered, along with saint teresa of avila, as a founder of the discalced carmelites. The premise of the book is that there are two dark nights, or times of spiritual bleakness that a person must travel through in order to come to a completely mature and perfect union with god. Commentary on the book of gospel of john by matthew henry. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The letters of saint teresa of jesus, translated and edited by e. A commentary on the ascent of mount carmel and the. John of the cross called the ascent of mount carmel. The result is an english translation of his writings that preserves the authentic meaning of the great mystics writings, presents them as clearly as possible, and at the same time gives the reader the doctrinal and historical. Jan 30, 2006 there are so many mistaken notions about st. Saint john of the cross mentions that even a small, seemingly harmless attachment to some pleasure or novelty.

Within eightyfour years of his death on december 14, 1591 st. A spiritual canticle of the soul and the bridegroom christ st. John supported her belief that the order should return to its life of prayer. But many carmelites felt threatened by this reform, and some members of johns own order kidnapped him. Dark night of the soul is an instructional religious book used mainly by the roman catholic church. If the bible were a mountain, the thirtynine books of the old testament lead up to the top, where the cross of jesus stands as described by the four gospels, and the remaining twentythree books of the new testament lead down from the top while looking back at his cross. John of the cross said nothing about his activities in his major works. But as i read it i thought over and over, this is a master class on the spiritual life. Verses 614 the evangelist designs to bring in john baptist bearing an honourable testimony to jesus christ, now in these verses, before he does this,i. The result is an edition that preserves the true meaning of the great mystics writings, presents them as clearly as possible, and at the same time gives the reader the doctrinal and historical information that will lead to a deeper. Christ and him crucified, and the redemption wrought out by him, with all the precious benefits of redemption.

At the foot of the cross stood his mother, supported by the disciple john. The living flame of love saint john of the cross doctor of the church and spiritual revolutionary saint john of the cross was a sixteenthcentury mystic who taught that the goal of the spiritual life is union with god, and that the soul must be emptied of self in. He gives us some account of the witness he is about to produce. He rightfully enjoys throughout holy mother, the church, not only the title of doctor of mystical theology but also the reputation of being a most august and excellent mystagogue among all of the churchs mystics. In the second edition, of 1889, he made numerous changes, without, however, leaving a record of the principles that guided him. John 4 commentary william barclays daily study bible. John of the cross is known throughout the christian world as being one of the leading teachers of christian contemplation or christian mysticism.

After john joined the carmelite order, saint teresa of avila asked him to help her reform movement. John s prison was a narrow, stifling cell, with no window, but only a small loophole through which a ray of light entered for a short time of the day, just long enough to enable him to say his office, but affording little facility for reading or writing. Translation of poetry of 16th century spanish mystic, st. He is, of course, most identified with the phrase dark night. William meninger guides the reader through two bas.

Has the best teachings of these four great saints in one book. St john of the cross catholic church home facebook. John shows us the intimacy with god that we can attain if we persevere. The premise of the book is that there are two dark nights, or times of spiritual bleakness that a person must travel through in order to come to a. During this period, begins his commentaries entitled the ascent of mount carmel cf. John of the cross was beatified by pope clement x on january 25, 1675, subsequently canonized by pope benedict xiii on december 26, 1726, and finally declared a doctor of the church universal by. John of the cross is one the favorite spiritual advisors of pope john paul ii. From ccel, this book provides a hauntingly beautiful, profound, and mystical account of christian spirituality. John of the cross is considered one of the foremost poets in the spanish language. Matthew henry 18 october 1662 22 june 1714 was an english commentator on the bible, who published his works in 1706, sixvolume exposition of the old and new testaments 17081710 or complete commentary, provides an exhaustive verse by verse study of the bible, covering the whole of the old testament, and the gospels and acts in the new testament. After this thing jesus went to the other side of the sea of galilee, which would be a natural sequence.

The result is an english translation of his writings that preserves the authentic meaning of the great mystics writings, presents them as clearly as possible, and at the same time gives the reader the doctrinal and. John of the cross begins to describe the passive night of the senses, the principal aim of which is the purgation or stripping of the soul of its imperfections and the preparation of it for fruitive union. A commentary on the ascent of mount carmel and the dark night of the soul ebook written by william meninger. Our celebration of the christmas season has cut seriously into my work time, so instead of writing a column this week, let me simply offer the reflections of st. Although his complete poems add up to fewer than 2500 verses, two of them the spiritual canticle and the dark night of the soul are widely considered masterpieces of spanish poetry, both for their formal stylistic point of view and their rich symbolism. Anthony lilles joins kris mcgregor to give a brief introduction book 2 to the spiritual classic the ascent of mt. John of the cross provides some rather strong guidelines to accomplish this goal. John of the cross are available as free pdf ebooks through the christian classics ethereal libary. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read st. This commentary focuses on the four major writings of our holy carmelite father, st. A commentary on the ascent of mount carmel and the dark night of the soul kindle edition by meninger, william. He was locked in a cell six feet by ten feet and beaten three times a week by the monks. Sda commentary as the eyes of jesus wandered over the multitude about him, one figure arrested his attention.

A spiritual canticle of the soul and the bridegroom christ. John of the cross if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me luke 9. Saint john of the cross biography magick books library. Thomas aquinas, he wrote three poems and commentaries. But many carmelites felt threatened by this reform, and some members of john s own order kidnapped him. William meninger guides the reader through two basic works of inner development, the ascent of mount carmel and the dark night of the. Father marc foley may think he has written a book of reflections his word based on the commentary by st.

John left us many books of practical advice on spiritual growth and prayer. John of the cross appeared in 1864 under the auspices of cardinal wiseman. John of the cross preface to the electronic edition this electronic edition v 0. John and the other disciples had lived with jesus for about three years.

And john had also seen jesus after he jesus had become alive again. John of the cross again, one of the confessors of st. John 1 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. We cannot accept johns doctrine of detachment presented in his other works unless we understand that detachment is a means to union with god. The author himself did not give any title to his poem, on which he wrote two book length commentaries. John of the cross inspired this revised edition of the english translation of his writings. A commentary on the ascent of mount carmel and the dark night of the soul ebook. Why is gospel of john the most popular book for a bible study. A christian mystic attributes an unmediated spiritual experience of knowing god in a deeper capacity directly to god. Johns gospel free bible commentary in easy english. Ascent of mount carmel subida del monte carmelo and the dark night noche oscura. John became a carmelite monk at medina del campo, spain. The result is an edition that preserves the true meaning of the great mystics writings, presents them as.

He enjoyed going outdoors and praying immediately from the book of. A revision of the 1991 edition published by longwood academic. John of the cross 154291 that we might do well to clarify some of them at the outset. Includes original poems on facing pages, scholarly notes, bibliography, and color illustrations.