The Complete Works of St. John of the Cross - Volume 1

Item Details:

Volume 1 - General Introduction, Ascent of Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul

Translated from the critical edition of P Silverio De Santa Teresa, C.D. and edited by E. Allison Peers.

Imrpimatur, 1933. 486 page book.

In the first volume of The Complete Works of Saint John of the Cross, the great Carmelite mystic and Doctor of the Church explains the soul’s purification and ascent toward union with God. The Ascent of Mount Carmel teaches the necessity of detachment from created things and from dependence upon spiritual consolations, showing how the understanding, memory, and will are purified through faith, hope, and charity. The soul must pass through this “dark night” of self-denial and spiritual poverty so that it may be freed from all that hinders perfect union with God.

The Dark Night of the Soul continues this journey by describing the deeper purification accomplished by God Himself. Through the passive nights of sense and spirit, the soul may experience dryness, obscurity, and suffering as imperfect attachments are stripped away. Yet this darkness ultimately prepares the soul for greater illumination, freedom, and Divine love. Together, these two closely connected works form St. John’s profound account of the soul being emptied of all that is less than God in preparation for union with Him.