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St John of the Cross Mystic Saint for Today
Graham Wildsmith, a lay Carmelite, reflects on some of the insights that John of the Cross has for us in our consumer society today.
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Today we live in a fast, busy, hedonistic world far removed from the time in which John lived and wrote and prayed. So how can we begin to make connections between this fantastic man of God, of the sixteenth century and our own lives in the twenty-first century? How do we make sense of our own lives in the light of his teaching? “John the Poet” John was first of all a poet; perhaps he is the greatest poet ever to come from Spain. In fact it took 300 years before his poetry was recognised as so great. One commentator pointed out the heavenly character of his poetry noting that it didn’t seem to be of this world. Most people know of his poem ‘The Dark Night’ on which John based his own commentary of the same name and also his commentary that he called ‘The Ascent of Mount Carmel’. However he wrote many more works including the ‘Spiritual Canticle’ based on the biblical text of the Song of Songs and the ‘Living Flame of Love’ for which he also wrote a commentary. John’s writings can sometimes seem difficult and obscure because of the type of Scholastic language that he uses and many people find it heavy and give up, that is why often we can benefit by reading a modern day commentary on his works and then later tackle the original. “What kind of freedom are we looking for?” One of the things we seek in our lives today is freedom. This is not just a physical freedom, nor the sort of freedom to do what we like, when we like, to whom we like. It is the freedom of our innermost spirit and soul to rejoice in God’s presence and to dwell in peace in His love. John was no stranger to the physical deprivation of freedom; his own imprisonment in Toledo for nearly ten months is testimony to that. However during the whole of that confinement he was able to maintain a spiritual freedom. Today we may not necessarily be locked up in a prison but for many they are ‘prisoners’ of their workplace, home, lifestyle, even of their relationships. St John was quick to point out that if you chain a bird to a branch it cannot fly, if you tie it to the branch with a cord it cannot fly, if you fasten it to the branch by the flimsiest of silk thread it still cannot fly. Only by detaching all connections to the branch does the bird find the freedom to fly. “Detachment” Detachment is a theme that runs through all of John’s teaching. We only have to look around us today to see how many things we are attached to that stop us from flying free. Mobile phones, I-pods, TV, videos, DVD’s, microwave cookers, motorcars, designer clothes, the list is endless. We have become a consumer society in which we become more and more dependent on possessions. We are constantly wanting more and we find ourselves worshiping the gifts rather than the Giver. So, how do we achieve this detachment? John points out to us that detachment is a grace. It is a gift from God. The only way to acquire this gift is through prayer and contemplation of the goodness of God and His love for us His children. Prayer is a conversation with God and like all good conversations requires each party to do some talking and some listening. We tend to be quite good at the talking bit, but very poor at the listening part. John teaches us to spend time in silence, in meditation and contemplation. In today’s busy world this can seem a very daunting task. Where can we find quiet, where can we find peacefulness, where can we find the time? “God’s day not ours” John teaches us that it is God’s day not ours. If we try to fit God into our day we will inevitably fail, because we will constantly find something we think that we need to do. Time will run out and we will be saying we will try again tomorrow. If, however, we fit our day into God’s day then He will ensure that we will exceed that which we had hoped to do by many times over and our journey towards union with God will have covered much ground. There will always be periods of dryness in our prayer life. They may last for short periods such as a day or part of a day, or they may last for weeks or even months. John’s message in these circumstances is one of perseverance. He stresses that it is God who works in us, not us working in ourselves. Sometimes we will find a respite in an oasis of prayer. However, John warns us that, like the Bedouins who camp at oases it is only a transitory stop. We must not settle down, put on the carpet slippers, lie on the sun bed and think that we have arrived. We must take advantage of the rest and then once refreshed we must set forth again on the journey. We are always ‘becoming’ in this life and John is keen to point out that the more time we spend in prayer and meditation, the more we receive the gift of detachment. This detachment makes us vulnerable and the more vulnerable we become, the closer we are to God. “Ultimate object of life is union with God” The ultimate objective of St. John’s teaching is union with God and thus complete love. In many ways John is not only a mystic poet but also a true romantic. He waxes lyrical on God’s love for the whole of creation. At the same time he teaches us that true humility is an absolute necessity if we are going to reach the top of Mount Carmel. We must be prepared to be ‘nada’, ‘nothing’, so that God’s love may totally envelope us. It is then that we can truly reflect God’s love back into the world in which we live. St. John of the Cross’s teaching is still as valid a signpost for our spiritual life today as it was nearly 450 years ago. The need for prayer has not changed in all those centuries. The grace of detachment has not changed. God has not changed. It is we who have veered away from the straight path to the top of Mount Carmel. There are no short cuts to heaven. There is no tradesman’s entrance at the foot of the cross. It is a long steady often arduous trek up the mountain, but we are fortunate in our guide St. John, who continues to show us the way and to encourage us as we go through thickets, over the rough terrain of life and through the suffering often associated with the journey. As John so rightly says “At the twilight of our days we will be judged on how much we loved”.
The Impact of God
These can be obtained from Goodnews Books 01582 571011
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I
suspect there are very few Catholics who have not heard of the great
mystic, St. John of the Cross, but I wonder how many people know him
and his teaching rather than just knowing a little of his biography.