Saint john of the cross parish council

st john fof the cross religious Education

saint john fof the cross monthly calendar

Directions to saint john fof the cross Middlebury CT

saint john fof the cross Apple harvest Festival

saint john fof the cross Youth Group

saint john fof the cross Parish Activities

saint john fof the cross Parish History

biorgraphy of saint John of the Cross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who was Saint John of the Cross??

Saint John of the Cross

"Where there is no love, put love and you will find love." This statement was written by John of the Cross, a man who loved and forgave those who had locked him in a dark six-by-ten-foot cell for nine months.

John's wealthy Spanish father had been disowned by his family because he married a poor weaver. Living in poverty proved to be too much for him, and he died before John was a year old. John spent much of his youth in an institution, where he was clothed, fed and educated. At the age of seventeen, he found a job as a male nurse in a hospital and was accepted into a Jesuit college. In 1563 he entered the Carmelite Order. Then he enrolled in another university, where he did so well that he was asked to teach a class and to help settle disputes.

When John met Teresa of Avila and learned from her about the reform of the Carmelite Order, he decided to help with it. For this reason he wore sandals instead of shoes and lived very simply in prayer and solitude. In 1577 the attitude toward reform shifted. John was caught up in a misunderstanding and imprisoned at Toledo, Spain.

During these month of darkness, John could have become bitter, vengeful, or filled with despair. Instead, he kept himself open to God's actions, for no prison could separate him from God's all-embracing love. During this time, he had many beautiful experiences and encounters with God in prayer. Later, he described these experiences in poetry. He wrote that in the evening of life we will be judged on love.

In 1578 John escaped to southern Spain to join the southern Carmelites. There he held leadership positions and wrote reflections on his experiences which show his deep spirit of prayer. In September, 1591, he become ill and had to move to another place. He chose to go to Ubeda where no one knew him. It was there that he died.

John's three famous works are The Spiritual Cantical, Ascent of Mount Carmel, and The Dark Night of the Soul. He is known as the Mystical Doctor.

Web site by Web Designers of Middlebury
Suggestions and comments are welcome. send to WebMaster