Saint John of the Cross-was a Carmelite friar. He was one of the great Spanish mystical theologians in the sixteenth century, and a poet. He was born in Toledo in 1542; His name at birth was Juan de Yepes. His father died when he was young, and his widowed mother raised him in a poverty condition. He was brought to a poor school, and was apprenticed to different trades. But showing no skill in any, he had no success. Then he joined a modest hospital to work as a nurse’s aide. Juan, liked his job, and developed a love for the sick and the poor. He found himself handling very well the most menial and unpleasant work in the hospital.

His kindness and joyful behavior especially with patients, and superiors, helped him to join a local Jesuit College at seventeen, to return a chaplain to the hospital. There he met with St. Teresa of Avila who persuaded him to join her to reform the Carmelite order. He began working in one of her poverty-stricken houses of friars for men. He received the name of John-of-St-Matthias, in 1567. Then he became a rector of a study house attached to the University in 1571. Given satisfaction in theological studies, he was promoted to the priesthood to be John of the Cross-, and became confessor to the nuns of Avila by, from 1572 to 1577.

Teresa admired John’ spirit in the reform movement, but because of continued opposition to the reform, John was arrested when he refused to abandon the reform. Time and again he was bloodily beaten with leather belts, arrested and prisoned. Once he was locked in a dark closet that did not allow him even to stand upright. He could not wash, or change clothes. On top of this filthy condition, John had to suffer freezing winter and suffocating summer. At all times, he was writing the most outstanding mystics in Christian theology, and the finest poetry that made his fame. One dark night, he saw light, and felt a gentle breath touching his face coming from nowhere. Then a voice led him to escape. From his work like ‘ Dark Night Of The Soul, Living Flame Of Love, and Ascent Of Mount Carmel’, John explained how he underwent his transformation. He taught the way to follow to free our souls and escape from the cell of our falling flesh and walk freely with God above our wounds, pain, sin, and self.

In 1582, St. Teresa died. John of the Cross-was stripped from all his posts, leaving him a sick simple friar. He was teaching love wherever he went, promising freedom flowing within in Christ. Until he died in 1591. He died small physically in stature, but a Giant in spirit, and a great Doctor of the Church.

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Page Written By  H. G. H.     ãCopyright  2001