The Spiritual Canticle is one of St John's greatest works. Using the simple metaphor of the spouse and the bride, he sketches a series of dialogues between God and the soul, rihc in natural imagery. The fragrant vineyards, fruitful valleys and green hills, flocks of sheep and clear streams all speak of the Object of mystical love. The images of the basic Spiritual Canticle are so beautiful and its music so captivating that many who first heard it begged St John to write a commentary, together with its profound reflections on the relations of the soul to God, has become one of the world's richest sources of meditation. The commentary and the sublime poetry that inspired them form what is presented here as the complete Spiritual Canticle.

Claiming to be a literary interpretation, this poem of forty stanza's is loosely based on the Biblical book of Song of Songs. This story follows a bride that has been separated from her bridegroom and her search for him. If it is not obvious enough from the reading of the poem itself and St. John of the Cross's extensive explanation afterwards, the poem is a literary interpretation of Song of Songs, but also of the soul's search for Jesus Christ.

This book explores the life and teaching of John of the Cross, the Spanish mystic who remains a major source of Western thought on spirituality, theology and mysticism. Leading academics discuss the importance and legacy of John from historical, theological, philosophical, pastoral, ecumenical, psychological and literary perspectives. The book focuses on his place in Carmel, his understanding of desire, and the role of transformation in his theology. Approaching John in the context of the late medieval mystical tradition, it offers a timely re-evaluation of his work and a significant reassessment of his relevance in the context of current debates.

St. John narrates this journey of the soul, which requires death to self and detachment from the world. In a stepbystep process, he shows how God can use this dark night to eventually bring our human spirits into great illumination, revealing: Divine wisdom and the passion of divine love. How the soul can walk securely through the darkness and the wonderful effects that are wrought in the believer as a result of the dark night. Includes CD of selected excerpts from book. Saint John of the Cross (15421591) was a poet, priest, philosopher, and mystic who helped to bring about reform within the Roman Catholic Church during the sixteenth century. A member of the Carmelite Order, he worked diligently with Saint Teresa of Avila to return their order to its proper foundation, a deep devotion to Jesus Christ. As a result of their efforts, John was imprisoned. Central to Saint Johns beliefs are the death of the selflife, the mortification of the flesh, and overcoming the devil, the world, and all temptations so that the soul can be completely united to God and His love.

Revised edition of an abridged and annotated version of this classic religious work, first published in 1980. Prepared by a Carmelite priest who has published a number of simplified versions of religious classics. Presents the text of the poem and a lengthy and richly detailed explanation of the work.

2022 Catholic Media Association second place award in theology: morality, ethics, Christology, Mariology, and redemption For some decades, the work of Carmelite theologian Constance FitzGerald, OCD, has been a well-known secret, not only among students and practitioners of Carmelite spirituality, but also among spiritual directors, spiritual writers, retreatants, vowed religious women and men, and Christian theologians. This collection sets out to introduce the work of Sister Constance to a wider and more diverse audience–women and men who seek to strengthen themselves on the spiritual journey, who yearn to deepen personal or scholarly theological and religious reflection, and who want to make sense of the times in which we live. To this end, this volume curates seven of Sister Constance’s articles with probing and responsive essays written by ten theologians. Contributors include: Susie Paulik Babka Colette Ackerman, OCD Roberto S. Goizueta Margaret R. Pfeil Alex Milkulich Andrew Prevot Laurie Cassidy Maria Teresa Morgan Bryan N. Massingale M. Catherine Hilkert, OP

Trajectories of Mysticism in Theory and Literature is a collection of essays which considers how recent critical theory contributes to debates about mystical and negative theology. This collection draws upon a wide range of material, including Biblical texts, autobiographical, confessional and fictional writing from the sixteenth century to the twentieth century, divinity in English, German, Spanish and French traditions, as well as work on God and metaphysics by Schelling, Weil, Levinas, Derrida, de Ma, Irigaray, and Cixous.

One of the most respected and adventurous of writers on the mystical traditions of Christianity, himself a Carmelite, Noel Dermot O'Donoghue has gathered together his definitive reflections on the three great mystical doctors of the Catholic Church: St Teresa of Avila, St John of the Cross and St Therese of Lisieux. These inter-related essays are the fruit of a lifetime, written in O'Donoghue's richly poetic way. Praise for O'Donoghue's book Heaven in Ordinarie 'Searching and moving... combines the sensibility to language and feeling of a poet with an astonishing intellectual boldness... a wonderful and visionary account of orthodox Christianity.' Rowan Williams

The writings of the Fathers of the Church have never been more widely available, yet obtaining an exhaustive and user-friendly volume of patristics can still be a daunting task. Without realizing it, many priests, seminarians, members of religious communities, and even laity already own a patristic library-their Liturgy of the Hours. In the four volumes of the Liturgy of the Hours, the official daily prayer of the Catholic Church, there are nearly 600 selections from the writings of Fathers and saints. Seeing the potential of this vast collection as a theological resource, Milton Walsh has organized these selections by topics according to the four pillars of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This topical concordance allows the reader to compare what the various authors have written on the same themes, while a chronological timeline of the readings shows their relationship to each other in time. Walsh has also provided background on the liturgical celebrations of the Church, as well as historical information on each author. In addition, there is a chapter on how patristic readings can assist in understanding the Bible. This fresh and original presentation of material that is literally at the fingertips of anyone praying the Liturgy of the Hours can be a tremendous aid to both religious devotion and theological study.