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Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Christian : Catholic

16th Century

Spain
(Europe)

John of the Cross

Timeline (1542 - 1591)

Poems by John of the Cross
Books - Links

John of the Cross, John of the Cross poetry, Christian, Christian poetry, Catholic poetry, poetry, poetry

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John of the Cross (Juan de la Cruz) was, like 16th century Spain itself, a crossroads of the three great Mediterranean spiritual traditions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Spain had strong intellectual and mystical influences from all three religions.

His mother might have been a Spanish Moor, that is, a Muslim. His poetry shows a distinct Sufi influence, referring to God as The Beloved.

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Born in Spain in 1542, John learned the importance of self-sacrificing love from his parents. His father gave up wealth, status, and comfort when he married a weaver's daughter and was disowned by his noble family. After his father died, his mother kept the destitute family together as they wandered homeless in search of work. These were the examples of sacrifice that John followed with his own great love -- God.

When the family finally found work, John still went hungry in the middle of the wealthiest city in Spain. At fourteen, John took a job caring for hospital patients who suffered from incurable diseases and madness. It was out of this poverty and suffering, that John learned to search for beauty and happiness not in the world, but in God.

After John joined the Carmelite order, Saint Teresa of Avila asked him to help her reform movement. 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 John's own order kidnapped him. He was locked in a cell six feet by ten feet and beaten three times a week by the monks. There was only one tiny window high up near the ceiling. Yet in that unbearable dark, cold, and desolation, his love and faith were like fire and light. He had nothing left but God -- and God brought John his greatest joys in that tiny cell.

After nine months, John escaped by unscrewing the lock on his door and creeping past the guard. Taking only the mystical poetry he had written in his cell, he climbed out a window using a rope made of strips of blankets. With no idea where he was, he followed a dog to civilization. He hid from pursuers in a convent infirmary where he read his poetry to the nuns. From then on his life was devoted to sharing and explaining his experience of God's love.

His life of poverty and persecution could have produced a bitter cynic. Instead it gave birth to a compassionate mystic, who lived by the beliefs that "Who has ever seen people persuaded to love God by harshness?" and "Where there is no love, put love -- and you will find love."

John left us many books of practical advice on spiritual growth and prayer that are just as relevant today as they were then. These books include:

Ascent of Mount Carmel

Dark Night of the Soul

and A Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ

Since joy comes only from God, John believed that someone who seeks happiness in the world is like "a famished person who opens his mouth to satisfy himself with air." He taught that only by breaking the rope of our desires could we fly up to God. Above all, he was concerned for those who suffered dryness or depression in their spiritual life and offered encouragement that God loved them and was leading them deeper into faith.

"What more do you want, o soul! And what else do you search for outside, when within yourself you possess your riches, delights, satisfaction and kingdom -- your beloved whom you desire and seek? Desire him there, adore him there. Do not go in pursuit of him outside yourself. You will only become distracted and you won't find him, or enjoy him more than by seeking him within you." -- Saint John of the Cross

-- from Catholic.org

Poems by John of the Cross

	Dark Night
	Full of Hope I Climbed the Day
	I Came Into the Unknown
	I Live Yet Do Not Live in Me
	Love's Living Flame
	Song of the Soul That Delights in Knowing God by Faith
	The Fountain
	The Sum of Perfection
	Without a Place and With a Place
	On the Communion of the Three Persons (from Romance on the Gospel)

Recommended Books

	All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg Amazon.com
	Ascent of Mount Carmel: St. John of the Cross, by John of the Cross / Translated by Henry L. Carrigan Jr. Amazon.com
	A Bilingual Edition of Poems By ST. John of the Cross; Spiritual Songs and Ballads., by John of the Cross / Translated by Kenneth Canatsey Amazon.com
	Collected Works of St. John of the Cross: St. John of the Cross, Edited by Kieran Kavanaugh Amazon.com
	Dark Night of the Soul, by John of the Cross / Translated by Mirabai Starr Amazon.com
	Dark Night of the Soul: A Masterpiece in the Literature of Mysticism, by John of the Cross / Translated by E. Allison Peers Amazon.com
	Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel, on Prayer, by Thomas Dubay Amazon.com
	John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila: A Study in Mystical Psychology, by Edward Howells Amazon.com
	John of the Cross: Doctor of Light and Love, by Kieran Kavanaugh Amazon.com
	John of the Cross: Selected Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality), by Kieran Kavanaugh Amazon.com
	John of the Cross: The Ascent of Joy, by Marc Foley Amazon.com
	Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky Amazon.com
	The Poems of St. John of the Cross, by John of the Cross / Translated by John Frederick Nims Amazon.com
	The Poems of St. John of the Cross, by Willis Barnstone Amazon.com
	Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs Amazon.com
	Silent Music: The Life, Work, and Thought of St. John of the Cross, by R A Herrera Amazon.com
	St. John of the Cross: Alchemist of the Soul: His Life, His Poetry (Bilingual), His Prose, by Antonio T. de Nicolas Amazon.com
	To Touch the Sky: Poems of Mystical, Spiritual & Metaphysical Light, Translated by Willis Barnstone Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Christian Classics Etherial Library: St. John of the Cross http://www.ccel.org/j/john_cross/ Several works by John of the Cross in PDF format, including the Dark Night of the Soul and Spiritual Canticle. Some links to articles about him, as well.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

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John of the Cross

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