Poet, mystic, saint, Juan de Yepes (1542-1591), better known as St John of the Cross, is venerated, together with St Teresa of Avila, as one of the reformers of the Carmelite Order in Spain in the sixteenth century. But he is also regarded, even today, as one of Spain’s greatest poets. He was born of a wealthy father, whose family disowned him when he married John’s mother, a poor woman. His father died when John and his brothers were children, and his mother was forced to take whatever work she could to keep the family alive and together. John worked as a nurse in a hospital from the age of fourteen until he joined the Carmelite order at the age of twenty. Some years later, he met Teresa of Avila who had already embarked upon her reform of the Carmelite Order. Although there was an age gap of almost thirty years between them, the two hit it off immediately and John joined forces with her in her great work.
John was a consummate mystic, and his skill as a poet enabled him to translate some of his experiences into words. His three greatest poems are The Dark Night, The Spiritual Canticle and The Living Flame of Love. He also wrote several treatises about spirituality and prayer, in which he uses those three poems to illustrate the spiritual
quest. They make wonderful reading. His first two books are based upon The Dark Night, and are entitled Ascent
of Mount Carmel and Dark Night of the Soul. The third and fourth are based on The Spiritual Canticle
and The Living Flame of Love respectively, and bear the same titles. |
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