Saint John was born, probably in 1540, in
Fontiveros, near Avila in Spain. His father died when he was very young and he
had to move with his mother from one place to another, while he tried as best he
could to continue his education and, at the same time, to earn a living. In
Medina in 1563 he was clothed in the Carmelite habit and, after a year's
novitiate, was given permission to follow the unmitigated Carmelite Rule.
He was ordained priest in 1567, after studying
philosophy and theology at Salamanca, and, in the same year, he met Saint Teresa
of Jesus who, a little while before, had obtained permission from the Prior
General Rossi to found two communities of contemplative Carmelite Friars (later
called the Discalced) in order that they might help the communities of nuns that
she had established. A year later - during which he travelled with Teresa - on
the 28th November 1568, John became part of the first group of Reformed
Carmelites at Duruelo, changing his name from John of St. Matthias to John of
the Cross.
He occupied many different positions within
the Reform. From 1572 to 1577 he was general confessor for the monastery of the
Incarnation in Avila (not then reformed but where Saint Teresa was Prioress). In
carrying out his duties, he became involved in an unpleasant dispute within the
monastery, a dispute for which he was considered in some way responsible. As a
result, he was seized and spent about eight months imprisoned in the Carmelite
house in Toledo, from where he escaped in August 1578. During his time in
prison, he composed many of his poems for which, later on, he wrote commentaries
in his celebrated spiritual masterpieces.
After Toledo, he was appointed superior in a
succession of houses, until, in 1591, the Vicar General, Nicolas Doria, (the
Reform having, by this time, gained a certain autonomy) dismissed him from all
his positions. In the final years of his life, this was not the only "trial"
which came to him who had given everything to the Reform, but he bore all his
trials as a saint. He died between the 13th and 14th December 1591 in Ubeda,
aged 49 years.
He communicated his spirituality essentially by word of mouth
and it was only written down as a result of persistent requests. The central
theme of his teaching, which has made him renowned both within and without the
Catholic Church, concerned the union through grace of man with God, through
Jesus Christ: he described a spiritual journey from the very beginning up to the
most sublime level, which consists of the stages of the purgative way, the
illuminative way and the unitive way or, in other words, the stages for
beginners, for the proficient and for those who are close to perfection. As
Saint John says - in order to arrive at the All which is God, it is necessary
that man should give all of himself, not like a slave but inspired by love.
Saint John's most celebrated aphorisms were: "In the evening of your life you
will be judged by your love" and, "Where there is no love, put love and then you
will find love". Canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on 27th December 1726, he was
proclaimed a doctor of the Church by Pius XI on 24th August 1926.
Now a favour of his writing
If you want,
the Virgin will
come walking down the road
pregnant with the
holy,
and say,
“I need shelter
for the night,
please take me
inside your heart,
my time is so
close.”
Then, under the roof of your soul
you will witness
the sublime
intimacy, the
divine, the Christ
taking birth
forever,
as she grasps your hand for help,
for each of us is
the midwife of God, each of us.
Yet there, under the dome of your being does creation
come into
existence eternally,
through your womb,
dear pilgrim—
the sacred womb in
your soul,
as God grasps our arms for help;
for each of us is
His beloved
servant
never far.
If you want, the Virgin will come walking
down the street
pregnant
with Light and
sing …
–St. John of the Cross, “If You Want” in Daniel Ladinsky
Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (New York:
Penguin Group, 2002), 306-307.
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