SPIRITUALITY

Teresa of Jesus recognized a Presence in her life that lovingly encompassed her in her friendship’s quest. After many unsuccessful years battling to «harmonize these two contraries» God and the world, she confidently abandoned herself into the arms of Christ. And, from that moment, God would take the helm of her life and embark her on a fascinating voyage heading for the «seventh dwellings.» Teresian spirituality springs from this experience.

With her life and writings, Teresa wanted to communicate how that God was, who had gone out to encounter her and gifted himself to her without measure. She had seen for herself that He desires nothing else than to give himself to the one who wants to receive him. God invites the person to enter within, where He dwells. Such is the «great beauty and dignity of the soul,» created in the image and likeness of God and capable of establishing friendship with him. God gives himself completely, not because the human being has garnered merits, but because He wants to reveal himself and elicit a response of self-giving. Teresa says that God «gilds faults» and draws the greatest share from the good that is in each one.

Teresa experienced that a person can live dragged along by his instinctual forces and be ignorant of his own identity and destiny. From this starting point, the spiritual process is for her a liberation from everything that dismembers the person interiorly and separates him from his goal: transforming union with Christ, spiritual marriage.

Prayer is the door to enter into this dynamic, which has as its only requirement a «determined determination.» As the fruit of this encounter in friendship, humility grows by the illumination of truths in the soul: who God is, who the person is, the little which the person can do of his own effort and how much he receives. The key to advance along this path is to accept what God offers as one who is poor and to respond to his grace with generous self-surrender.

When divine love caresses a soul, the soul can no longer measure its life according to the completion of precepts and rites, but instead according to the love with which it responds to so many gifts received. For that reason, this experience sets in motion a transformation of the self at its root, in order to accommodate it to a friendship of ever-increasing depth with God and its brethren.

Teresa experienced great desires for beatitude and freedom. She observed that the human being has in his interior an emptiness that nothing and no one can fill, only God. However, he persists in filling it with what leaves him hungrier. Neither things nor people, but the attitude taken towards them, is what entraps life into a spiral of slaveries. The person needs to eviscerate the world’s lie which he carries within, because «everything that comes to an end is nothing» and «God alone suffices.» When the soul has seen the grandeurs of God, it does not feel the weight of any work of detachment that helps it unburden itself in order to fly to him; to «walk in truth» and nakedness in order to be able to be free at last.

Christ is the center of Teresian spirituality. His Humanity healed Teresa affectively and introduced her into the mystery of the Trinitarian God, a communion of love. From the radical choice she made for him sprang the desire to please him in everything. And, since love of God and love of neighbor is the same, service to others is what validates the act of following after the One who «never looked out for himself.» Teresa proposes a journey of faith lived in community: A group of friends of Jesus in which each one is another Christ for the others, out of love becoming a «slave of God and of everyone.» That is, forgetting self and thinking of the good of the other before oneself. Love that infuses the little things of every day, because God does not look upon the greatness of works but upon the love with which they are done.

PLACES

Teresa of Jesus experienced the way in which the mercy of God transformed her life. Nonetheless, she did not hide herself in an egocentric, sterile intimism. On the contrary, her sensitivity became more acute in the face of the suffering of a world that is «all in flames.» This is why her desire to share what she received from God was so urgent. The fruit of her conversion was prolific activity as foundress and writer that lasted until her death.

Teresa dreamt of a small community that lived the Gospel authentically. A sign in the midst of a society with twisted values and a Church in crisis. A place of prayer and work, silence and fraternity, where she could «do the little that was in my power» to improve reality. In 1562, amidst many difficulties, that dream became a reality with the first Discalced foundation: the convent of Saint Joseph in Ávila.

Teresa’s days flowed by joyfully until the witness of a missionary returning from the recently discovered Americas shook her heart. In view of the affliction of so many creatures, mistreated because of colonial ambition and the failings of those who evangelized, she felt the compelling need to broaden her work. She was 52 years old. From then on, her life was so intensely involved in travel and new convents that the image remaining of her in history is of “the gadabout saint.”

Foundress of nuns and friars, she journeyed over more than six thousand kilometers along 16th century Spanish roads that were in terrible condition. Her convents were established at a prodigios pace: Medina del Campo (1567), Duruelo (1568), Malagón (1568), Valladolid (1568), Toledo (1569), Pastrana (1569), Salamanca (1570), Alba de Tormes (1571), Segovia (1574), Beas de Segura (1575), Seville (1575), Caravaca (1576), Villanueva de la Jara (1580), Soria (1581), Palencia (1581) and Burgos (1582).

Teresa demonstrated her extraordinary personal qualities in negotiating obstacles of all types. Insufficient financial resources were coupled to problems obtaining licenses, the hardship of the trips, the search for and fitting out of the houses, her ill health…. Suspect because she was of Jewish convert ancestry, a woman, and a mystic, she was denounced to the Inquisition on several occasions. In 1575 it opened a process against her and her nuns in Seville from which they were absolved. She found detractors among the nobility and middle class, and also in the Church. Even within her own Order the situation became intolerable, and after a painful process, the Teresian foundations split off from it in 1580. The Discalced Carmel was then born. And in fact Teresa checkmated the values that guided that society.

A woman always engrossed in a thousand conflicts and needs, her astute diplomacy and renowned skilfulness in the world of business were decisive in her success. But the true motivation of her accomplishment was the desire to serve the Friend to whom she remained intimately united. From an unshakable faith and passionate love emerged the courage and strength to overcome all adversity.

For Teresa, each foundation was an authentic epiphany. God was extending his reign whilst new communities were inaugurated. And He did this using the social insignificance of a woman. The spirit of evil opposed this, sowing along the way so many, many setbacks. But the power of God is always stronger. His light and goodness triumphed each time a new Carmel was born.

Teresa used up her health and life in service of God and the Church. She was convinced of the important ecclesial mission that was carried out in her houses of prayer. She understood that prayer, beginning from the transformation of the person herself, reached all corners of the earth like an expansive wave.

In 1563 he joined the monastery of Santa Ana of Carmel in Medina as a novice and made his profession the following year. He began studies at the University of Salamanca: three years of philosophy as an ordinary student and one of theology (1567-1568), this last after having been interviewed by Saint Teresa (“La Santa”) in Medina during his vacation in 1567. La Santa convinced him not to become a Carthusian. On her request that he join the new Carmelite family she was organizing, he agreed, but under the condition that she would not delay a long time.

On his return from Salamanca in 1568, he continued his dialogue with Teresa about the new Carmelite life. He accompanied her in the founding of the Valladolid community of nuns and duly familiarized himself with all the proceedings. After finishing that novitiate of sorts, Juan left for Duruelo (Ávila) and began to adapt the little house that was gifted to La Santa as the first small convent of friars.

The official inauguration: November 28, 1568. La Santa visited during Lent in 1569.

John of the Cross was named master of novices in Duruelo and in this capacity travelled to Mancera after the move to this nearby location took place in 1570. The duty to organize the novitiate in Pastrana (Guadalajara) fell upon him in 1570. He returned to Mancera. In April 1571 he headed to a new destination: rector of the college in Alcalá de Henares. The following year, possibly in May, Saint Teresa requested his presence in Ávila to be the confessor of the great monastery of La Encarnación, where she was prioress.

He spent five years in Ávila, earning renown for his power against evil spirits and as a notable exorcist and teacher of souls. The Calced Carmelites tore him away from Ávila and took him as a prisoner to the convent of Toledo. Nine months of jail ensued, from which he escaped in August 1578.

In 1578 he attended the small chapter of the Discalced in Almodóvar del Campo (Ciudad Real) in which he was named superior of the convent of El Calvario (Jaén). He travelled to Andalucía and situated himself in his new location. From there he went to the university city of Baez to found the monastery-college of the Order in 1579, where he was rector.

In January 1582 he moved to Granada. He was prior of the convent of Los Santos Mártires in that city three times. In 1585 he was vicar provincial of Andalusia. From Baeza he attended the chapter in Alcalá de Henares during which the Discalced formed their own, separate province in 1581. Likewise, he attended all the other chapters: Almodóvar in 1583; Lisbon and Pastrana in 1585; Valladolid in 1587; and Madrid in 1588, 1590, and 1591. From the chapter of 1588 onward, he was the second authority of the Order and in that capacity moved to Segovia as a new member of the general government of the Order, presiding over its sessions when Nicolás Doria, the vicar general, was absent. He built the new convent in Segovia, although he did not see it finished. He left Segovia and travelled to La Peñuela in August 1591. He became ill and on September 28 moved to Úbeda. He suffered considerably under the prior of Úbeda, together with the infamous persecution of Diego Evangelista. He died in Úbeda on December 14, 1591. His body was transferred to Segovia in 1593.

WORKS

John of the Cross preferred to talk about spiritual matters rather than write about them; his most profound vocation was oral teaching. He spontaneously wrote The Sayings of Light and Love, The Letters, The Precautions, and little more.

His great works: The Ascent of Mount Carmel / The Dark Night, The Spiritual Canticle, and The Living Flame of Love, were written on the request of friars and nuns. The only thing needed to get an idea of the written works of John of the Cross is to look over one of the good editions currently available. They are usually presented divided in two halves: minor writings and major writings.

Minor writings are also called short works. This does not mean they are less important or represent less significant messages than the other writings. They are so called because of their length. If we include his poetry within the minor writings, particularly the poetry which he comments on in his major works, we gain a better understanding of what the term “minor works” means.

Regarding the old question about where to start when reading Saint John of the Cross, the simplest and most efficient approach is to start with the shorter works. For the most part, these also chronologically precede the major treatises.

Attentive and affectionate reading of the great poems will yield in the reader the desire to know their meaning, the meaning of that whole marvellous world of poems, and will provide the motivation to read the prose commentaries.

SPIRITUALITY

The spirituality of Saint John of the Cross is wholly theological. From the instance in which the saint presents the theological schema in 2A chapter 6, all his magisterium is perfectly elucidated and organized. This chapter and forward through the end of Ascent is entirely manifest theological doctrine. The Word of God with which John of the Cross is in love permeates that theological substance. In that same framework he presents all the mysteries of the faith, the lamps of fire of the divine attributes, and likewise the entire realm of the reciprocal falling in love of Christ Jesus and the soul, shown in the Ascent / Dark Night, as in the Canticle and the Flame. As has been precisely written about St John’s theological magisterium: “By the theological life, the attitudes and behaviour of the person are carried out and informed by the three theological virtues. They integrate, orient, drive, and transform the person and life, allowing them to be completely directed toward God. A life of faith, hope, and charity, with all its divine demands and human, spiritual, and earthly renunciations” (Isaías Rodríguez, “La vida teologal según el Vaticano II y San Juan de la Cruz,” Revista de Espiritualidad 27 (1968), p. 477).

It is useful to transcribe a letter of Edith Stein written on March 30, 1940, in which she refers to a very important point in the spirituality of John of the Cross. Edith Stein received a letter from Agnella Stadtmüller, a Dominican nun and doctor of philosophy, well known by her. In the letter she asked what Saint John of the Cross understood as “pure love.” Edith answers exactly what is asked. Her words are: “Saint John of the Cross understands by ‘pure love’ the love of God for himself; a love free of all attachment to any created thing, but also from all consolation and similar things which God may give to a soul, and any form of special devotion, etc.; the love of a heart that does not desire any other thing but the completion of the will of God and that allows itself to be led by him without any resistance. What a person can do to get to this point is amply explained in The Ascent of Mount Carmel; how God purifies the soul, in The Dark Night; the result, in The Living Flame of Love and in The Spiritual Canticle. Basically, the entire path can be found in each work, but one or another specific stage is highlighted in each case. However, if you want to learn what is essential, compiled in a much briefer way, then you should take up the minor works.”

PLACES

“John of the Cross had limited geography: he lived only in Spain and a few days in Portugal. The highest point he reached in the Iberian Peninsula was Valladolid, where he accompanied Saint Teresa in 1568 and where he returned in 1574 to make a declaration before the tribunal of the Inquisition regarding his intervention in the case of the possessed woman of Ávila, María de Olivares Guillamas. On one other occasion he arrived at this Castilian city in 1587 for the chapter of the new province of the Discalced. The southernmost point he reached on several occasions was the city of Málaga. To the west, the city of Lisbon in 1585. Caravaca, in the province of Murcia, was the easternmost point, where he visited several times. Within this very limited geography he travelled 27,000 kilometers (over 16,000 miles), mostly on foot or on the back of a humble, little donkey” (José Vicente Rodríguez, San Juan de la Cruz, La Biografía, Ed. San Pablo, Madrid 2012, 61).

Among the places to mention and visit:

Fontiveros: His birthplace and place of baptism.
Medina del Campo: He attended the School of Doctrine; assisted the sick in the Hospital; studied in the Jesuit College; entered the Order of Carmel; and made his profession in 1564.

Salamanca: He studied philosophy and theology in the University. He lived in the college of Saint Andrew. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1567. In 1567 and 1568 he met Saint Teresa in Medina. He travelled to Valladolid with her, staying there for more than a month.
Duruelo-Mancera: In Duruelo he prepared the house in which the renewed Carmelite life was inaugurated in November 1568. In Duruelo and Mancera he was Master of Novices.

Ávila: He spent five years here, from 1572 to 1577.
Toledo: He was jailed for nine months and escaped, risking everything.
El Calvario: Prior of the convent.
Baeza: In 1580 he founded the college in this university town. He was rector there.
Granada: He arrived in January 1582 and lived here until the summer of 1588.
Segovia: 1588-1591.
La Peñuela: August-September 1591.
Úbeda: Where he died. His remains have rested in Segovia since 1593.