St. John of the Cross: A Guide to Understanding the Mystical Doctor

This volume represents an opportunity for the Discalced Carmelite friars to express their gratitude to the one we call “our Holy Father,” St. John of the Cross, and to explore his timely message, not just for ourselves, but for the whole contemporary church and world. Yet at the same time, our contributors are well aware of John’s words in “Stanzas concerning an ecstasy experienced in high contemplation”: This knowledge is unknowing is so overwhelming that wise men disputing can never overthrow it, for their knowledge does not reach to the understanding of not understanding transcending all knowledge. These essays, then, make no claim to fully explain or capture the inexhaustible riches of John’s doctrine, or the experience of God he describes. Our hope is, rather, that they may provide readers with some guidance in understanding John, and some nourishment for their own journey into the infinite mystery of the divine. “Where there is no love, put love and you will draw out love.” St. John of the Cross