John of the Cross

John of the Cross (1542–1591) was a Spanish Carmelite friar, priest, poet, and mystic. His writings on spiritual purification and union with God include Dark Night of the Soul.

Carmelite Order: A Catholic religious order that grew from a community of hermits on Mount Carmel. John entered this order and helped establish its Discalced reform.
Dark Night of the Soul: A poem and spiritual treatise by John of the Cross describing purification through the loss of sensory and spiritual consolation. It gives the best-known account of his two stages of the dark night.
Teresa of Ávila: A Spanish Carmelite nun, reformer, and mystic whose writings include The Interior Castle. Teresa recruited John to help reform the Carmelite order.
The Ascent of Mount Carmel: A spiritual treatise by John of the Cross on detachment and the soul’s journey toward union with God. It develops the disciplined ascent that complements his account of the dark night.
Canonization: The Catholic Church’s formal declaration that a deceased person is a saint. John was canonized in 1726, more than a century after his death.
Christian mysticism: Christian traditions and practices concerned with direct experience of God and transformation through union with God. John’s poetry and prose describe mystical union within Christian theology.
Purgation: A stage of spiritual development in which attachments and disordered desires are cleansed. John describes purgation as preparation for deeper communion with God.
Discalced Carmelites: A reformed branch of the Carmelite order that emphasizes a stricter, contemplative way of life. John helped establish this branch alongside Teresa of Ávila.
Spiritual Canticle: A poem by John of the Cross that portrays the soul’s search for God through the imagery of love poetry. It shows how he adapts the language of desire to mystical theology.
Doctor of the Church: An honorary title recognizing a saint’s writings as having special importance for Catholic teaching. The Catholic Church named John a Doctor of the Church in 1926.

Linked from 8 pages