St John of the Cross – författare

San Juan de la Cruz, the 16th-century Spanish mystic, is regarded as one of Spain's finest poets. Passionate, ecstatic and spiritual, his poems are a blend of lyricism and mystical thought. This book presents a translation of the complete poems, with the aim of recreating the religious fervour of St John's work. This dual-language edition provides the original Spanish from the "Codex of Sanlucon de Barrameda", with facing English translations. The work concludes with two essays - a critique of the poetry and a short piece on the Spanish text that appears alongside the translation - as well as brief notes on the individual poems.

If a man wants to know for certain the road he is on he has to keep his eyes closed and walk in darkness.'The dark night of the soul' has come to typify that condition of spiritual dryness, depression and seeming abandonment by God that many Christians experience at some stage in their lives.In THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL, St John, a sixteenth-century Spanish mystic and poet, describes the spiritual road that leads to union with God. On this road the soul must enter the Dark Night to be stripped of its imperfections, including the famous 'seven deadly sins' - a process that often takes a number of years.This new edition of a great spiritual classic is for all who long to find God in the middle of their darkest times. It includes an introduction from the translator and a new foreword by Alan Jamieson.

A 16th-century mystic, St. John of the Cross was also a Carmelite monk who helped reform the Order. In this book, he addresses pride, avarice, envy, and other human imperfections. He also provides an extended explanation of Divine love, and describes methods of conversion through prayer, submission, and purification.

Apart from the introduction by Fr Steuart, The Mystical Doctrine of St John of the Cross consists wholly of passages from St John's own writings. It sets out in continous and convenient form all the essential points in his teachings. St John of the Cross was born near Avila in 1542 and dies at Ubeda in 1591. A Carmelite friar he was an enthusiastic supporter of St Teresa's campaign to restore the original and strict rule. His untiring work to spread the reform led to imprisonment, during which he wrote his first poem. He was canonized in 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926.