Toledo

Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain; it is the capital of the province of Toledo in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Toledo is a historic city in Castilla La Mancha, sitting majestically above the Tagus River and denoted a UNESCO heritage site in 1986.

The history of Toledo dates back to Roman occupation (Toletum) circa 192BCE. The ruins of the Roman circus are still visible just outside the walls of the city.

Toledo was considered the holiest city in Spain in the Catholic faith.

Our holy father St. John of the Cross entered a Carmelite Monastery at the age of 21 in Toledo Spain. But after the anti-Reformist General Chapter of the Calced Carmelites in 1572 he was abducted and imprisoned at a Carmelite friary at Toledo. He was imprisoned in a dungeon here which was seven meters long and one meter sixty wide.

Confined in a dark cell in this monastery of the Toledo Carmelites, St John used to bleed from the wounds inflicted by their floggings, he was also starved. He was incarcerated  for nine months.

After six months in the Toledo Carmelite prison, a new warden brought St. John the writing material he requested, and he wrote down some of his earliest poetry. He knew, with a grim certainty, that he was going to die if he remained in his prison at Toledo much longer.

He escaped from the prison in August 1578.

Todo y Nada

(All and Nothing)

Todo y nada is the spiritual genius of St. John of the Cross. According to him, "To reach satisfaction in all, desire satisfaction in nothing. To come to possess all, desire the possession of nothing.”

Everything and nothing in his understanding of God: todo y nada.

Some say that the spirituality of Saint John of the Cross can be summed up with just this one word: nothing.

This famous poem by St. John of the Cross is from THE ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL expressig the spiritual dialectics of all/nothing (todo/nada) very well. Here the word todo is used 2772 times.

Thus the core of St. John of the Cross' teaching is “nada, nada, nada!” which means “nothing, nothing, nothing” other than God.

Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain that is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the community of Castile and León. It is 212 kilometres away from the capital, Madrid.

Our holy father St John of the Cross began his studies at the University of Salamanca – he studied Theology and Philosophy there.

He completed further studies at Salamanca and in 1567 was ordained to the priesthood.

Spiritual Canticle

THE SPIRITUAL CANTICLE (Spanish: Cántico Espiritual), is one of the gretest poetic works of our holy father and Spanish mystical poet, St. John of the Cross.

The full title is SPIRITUAL CANTICLE OF THE SOUL AND THE BRIDEGROOM OF CHRIST.

St John of the Cross, the Doctor of the Church, wrote this poem as an expression of his burning love for God.

In THE SPIRITUAL CANTICLE St. John of the Cross tries to explain the mystical process that follows the soul until it reaches its union with God. In order to get this, the poet uses an allegory: the search of the husband (Christ) by the wife (the human soul). It is about divine union – the stanzas between the soul and the bridegroom. St. John tries to provide an explanation for the mystical process that follows the soul until it reaches its union with God.

Reformed Carmelites

A reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church took place in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and our holy mother St. Teresa of Ávila was an important figure in this Reformation which is also called the Counter Reformation. 

She is considered as the Spanish religious reformer and credited with reviving Catholicism in the 1560s and 1570s when Protestantism threatened to bring down the church. Her most significant contribution was the founding of the Reformed Discalced (Barefoot) Carmelite Convent of San Jose, a Catholic order for women. At the time of her death in 1582 she had started seventeen new Reformed Discalced Carmelite convents, or religious houses, in Spain.

The Carmelites were formally known as the Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The need for reform of the Carmelite order was recognized by the early sixteenth century, and some early attempts at reform were made then.

St Teresa started a reform movement among the nuns and then with the help of St John of the Cross, among the friars in 1568 in Spain. In 1592 this reform, called that of the "Discalced Carmelites" or of the "Teresians", became independent from the Carmelite Order and grew rapidly.

St John of the Cross began the first monastery of the Teresian reform for the friars.

The reformed Carmelites are also known as Discalced (shoeless) Carmelites and have produced many canonized saints.

So it is today in the 21st century the Discalced Carmelite friars and nuns continue to live this way of life begun on Mount Carmel and reformed by St Teresa of Avila. An important element of her reform was to rescue the practice of mental prayer.

The aim of the reform was to restore and emphasize the austerity and contemplative character of primitive Carmelite life. Because Reformed Carmelites wore sandals in place of shoes and stockings, they came to be called the Discalced, or barefooted, Carmelites, to distinguish them from the older branch of the order.

Prayer

The dictionary meaning of prayer is “a spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession.” Prayer is the act or practice of praying to God or an object of worship.

Traditionally, Catholic prayers fall into four types:

Adoration: Praising God.

Contrition: Asking for God's forgiveness.

Petition: Asking God for a favour.

Thanksgiving: Showing God gratitude.

The most important characteristic of Carmelite spirituality is living in God's presence. This relationship with God takes shape in prayer. Thus, the heart of Carmelite life rests in faithfulness to community and solitary prayer.

Prayer is an important part of Carmelite life. We are called upon to pray daily.

It is important to reserve every day a little time to read or listen to the Word of God. If one stops praying, it is difficult to get back into a rhythm. In fact when this spirituality enters the heart, where the intimate conversation with God happens, it becomes mental prayer.

Prayer is at the very heart of the Carmelite vocation. Through praying alone and together as a community, Carmelites seek to communion with God.

“For prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God.” ― St. Teresa of Avila

 For St. Teresa, prayer is simply friendship with Jesus. Real prayer is nothing other than the expression of a relationship of friends. She says: “Humility is the principal virtue that people who pray.”

In the works of St. Teresa of Avila we are shown the importance of prayer as friendship; in St. John of the Cross how we are led as God's people from selfishness to joy.

“The important thing in prayer is not to think much but to love much” [Interior Castle, 4, 1, 7].

Carmelite Saints on Prayer

“Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me. What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage yourself in anything less or pay heed to the crumbs that fall from your Father’s table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in it and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.” – Saint John of the Cross, Sayings of Light and Love, 27

“Vocal prayer must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of Whom he is speaking to; what he is asking; who it is who is asking and of Whom, I don’t call prayer – however much the lips may move.” – Saint Teresa of Avila, from The Interior Castle

“Prayer does not necessarily mean talking to God; it more often means listening to him.” — Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, Practice of the Presence of God

“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned towards heaven; it is a cry of recognition and love; embracing both trial and joy.” – Saint Therese of Lisieux, Story of a Soul

“Consuming Fire! Spirit of Love! Descend within me and reproduce in me, as it were, another incarnation of the Word that I may be to Him another humanity wherein He may renew His mystery.” – Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, Prayer to the Trinity

“True pupils of the school of Carmel should be in a high degree wrapped up in themselves, to find and meet God in the innermost recesses of their souls.” – Blessed Titus Brandsma, Carmelite Mystical Historical Sketches

“Make prayer your business.” – Nicholas of Narbonne, Ignea Sagitta (The Flaming Arrow)

Nada

The word nada or nothing in English is used to summarize the whole doctrine of our holy father St. John of the Cross. The core of St. John of the Cross' teaching is “nada, nada, nada!” Basically, it means that “nothing, nothing, nothing” other than God.

Only when the soul is reduced to nothing, the highest degree of humility, will the spiritual union with God be accomplished. Thus the concept of 'nothingness' or nada is in all the writings of St. John of the Cross.

THE NADA DOCTRINE

According to St. John of the Cross and other Catholic mystics, nada is the first law for successful contemplative prayer and for becoming a saint. Put simply, the Nada Doctrine states: You can allow nothing to come between you and God or between your will and His will for you. We need to ask ourselves, if we are not saints, what stands in the way of putting the Nada Doctrine into effect in our lives?

Medina del Campo

Medina del Campo is a pre-Roman city in Spain with an excellent geographical situation. It is situated in the South-Western area of the province of Valladolid. 

Medina del Campo is significant for the Carmelites because on 15 August 1567, our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila founded the monastery of San José, the second home of the Reformed Carmelite Order. It was the second convent for Discalced Carmelite nuns.

It was in Medina del Campo that our Holy Father St. John of the Cross attended the College of the Society of Jesus. He was ordained in 1597, and said his first Mass in Medina del Campo. During that trip, he first met St. Teresa of Avila, and she encouraged him to promote her reform among the men's Order. In 1563 St. John took the Carmelite habit at St. Anne's, Medina del Campo, as Juan de la Cruz (John of the Cross).

The following year he entered the monastery. It was here in Medina del Campo that he was imprisoned for being faithful to the Order.

After his father died, St. John’s mother moved the family to Medina del Campo in search of employment. It was in Medina del Campo that St. John's mother placed him in a church orphanage school since she could not feed him.

It was in a hospital in Medina del Campo that St. John of the Cross worked for seven years while he was studying during this time at the university at Salamanca.

Mystics

The Carmelite Mystics form a group of major spiritual writers in the Church. They are also the Doctors of the Church.

The first Carmelite to be declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926 was our Holy Father St. John of the Cross. He died in Ubeda in 1591, outstanding in holiness and wisdom. A joint founder of the Discalced Carmelites along with St. Theresa of Avila, St. John is the Doctor of Mystical Theology.

ST. TERESA OF AVILA

This Spanish nun and mystic, our founder and holy mother, is the first woman Doctor of the Church. She wrote several spiritual classics like The Way of Perfection and The Interior Castle, which are renowned for their depth of doctrine and which showed her own spiritual depth and experience. She died at Alba de Tormes in 1582. St. Teresa was made the first woman doctor of the Church in 1970.

ST. THERESE OF LISIEUX

She was a French Carmelite nun. Known as The Little Flower, her autobiographical Story of a Soul has become a spiritual classic, inspiring millions to follow her "Little Way" of holiness. Already Patroness of the Missions, she was proclaimed the third woman Doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II on October 19th, 1997.

THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE

LIVING FLAME OF LOVE

Oh Llama de Amor Viva

O living flame of love that tenderly wounds my soul in its deepest centre!

THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE is one of St. John of the Cross's later poems that condenses his teaching. It was written about in 1584.

This flame, St. John of the Cross told us, is the love of the Holy Spirit. Now, having grown hotter and sometimes flaring up, it impels the Carmelite friar to write more.

Some of his other major works include THE ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL, THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL and THE SPIRITUAL CANTICLE.

THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE is considered to be the most authentic expression of St. John of the Cross’ theology. He helped St. Teresa of Avila with her reform of the Carmelite Order and was imprisoned for political reasons. He wrote this beautiful poem on the love between the soul and God while in prison in Toledo. The work consists of the poem and a prose commentary on it.

"After the dark night there springs up the living flame of love!" - St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

In THE SPIRITUAL CANTICLE and THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE she discovered "the true Saint of Love."

Love

The prophets of Mount Carmel reminded one and all that God lives among His people and that He loves each one of us with an everlasting love. The mission of the Carmelites is to let this love permeate the entirety of their lives

St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross once wrote of the Carmelite vocation: “I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was BURNING WITH LOVE.”

Thus, our Carmelite vocation is all about love and Divine Union. Love is the origin, means and goal of the Carmelites. God loves us and creates us as the object of love.

Nothing seems impossible to the one who loves! Without love, deeds, even the most brilliant, count as nothing.” St. Teresa of Avila 

“In the heart of the Church, my vocation is love.” – St. Therese of Lisieux

As Secular Carmelites, we try to show God's love in our everyday lives, wherever God leads us and with the people God gives us.

The Blessed Virgin has shown her patronage over the Order of Carmel from its earliest days. The scapular is a sign of the love of Mary.

Our Carmelite charism is a pure gift from God. He is the contemplative, burning with passionate love for the Absolute who is God, his word flaring like a torch. We hope to touch all people with the healing and renewing power of God's love.

St. Teresa cannot get along without a heart that loves.

St. John of the Cross

Saint John of the Cross or San Juan de la Cruz (24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Carmelite mystic and poet. He is our Holy Father. He is the cofounder with Saint Theresa of the order of Discalced Carmelites.

Saint John of the Cross was born Juan de Yepes y Alvarez, in Fontiveros, Avila, Spain in 1542. He became a Carmelite monk at Medina del Campo, Spain, in 1563 and was ordained priest in 1567. St. John of the Cross is a spiritual master and Doctor of the Church.

Saint John of the Cross grew up in poverty and was drawn to the contemplative life. His soul longed for mystical union with God.

December 14 is the liturgical memorial of Saint John of the Cross who was locked in a cell six feet wide and ten feet long for nine months, with no light except that which filtered through a slit high. This happened because of a misunderstanding within the Carmelite Order.

He was a major figure in the Catholic Reformation. He was beatified in 1675 and canonized in 1726.

December 14 is one of the principal feast days of the Discalced Carmelite Order, the Solemnity of Our Holy Father John of the Cross

In the writings of St. John of the Cross, one of the greatest mystics in history, thousands of people have found a path for drawing closer to God.

John of the Cross is also one of the greatest poets in Spanish literature.

Inquisition

According to history.com, the Inquisition was a powerful office set up within the Catholic Church to root out and punish heresy throughout Europe and the Americas. Beginning in the 12th century and continuing for hundreds of years, the Inquisition is infamous for the severity of its tortures and its persecution of Jews and Muslims.

The Inquisition was essentially a theological court. There were three main inquisitions: the Medieval Inquisition (against the Albigensian heresy), the Spanish Inquisition (formed in the late 1400s) and the Roman Inquisition (later the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith).

During the height of the Spanish Inquisition, our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila joined the Carmelites at the Convent of the Incarnation in Ávila in 1536. Later in August 1562 she founded a new style of Carmelite community in Ávila as the native language had been banned by the Inquisition.

In 1563, at age 21, our Holy Father St. John of the Cross entered the Carmelite novitiate and later, because of his ideas, was sent to prison for a time by the Inquisition.

Fontiveros

Fontiveros is a municipality in Spain in the Ávila province. It comprises an area of approximately 40 square kilometres. This small place has sentimental attachment for the Carmelites because our Holy father St. John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes Álvarez) was born in Fontiveros in 1542 on June 24 (St. John Baptist's Day).

His father (Gonzalo de Yepes ) was from the moneyed class and had been a reasonably well-off merchant. He belonged to a wealthy family of silk merchants. However, on a business trip to Fontiveros, he met and fell in love with Catalina Alvarez, a poor seamstress. His family disowned both of them.

Dark Night of the Soul

“Noche oscura del alma”

“Now that I no longer desire all, I have it all without desire.” ― St. John of the Cross, DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL

 

The DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL is a period of utter spiritual desolation, disconnection, and emptiness in which one feels totally separated from the Divine.

The DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL is the title of a poem written by our Holy Father Saint John of the Cross who was a 16th-century Spanish poet and Roman Catholic mystic.

This poem narrates the journey of the soul from its bodily home to its union with God. The journey is called “The Dark Night,” darkness representing the hardships and difficulties the soul meets in detachment from the world and reaching the light of the union with the Creator. He called this transition “The Dark Night of the Soul” and deemed it a prerequisite to a full union with God.

St. John of the Cross wrote this poem while imprisoned in a tiny prison cell for his attempts to reform the Church. His dark closet of confinement became what he called a Dark Night of the Soul. He was tortured because he loved Jesus Christ but the Lord didn't rescue him. He contended that the dry seasons teach us about our own powerlessness and our own need for complete reliance on Christ.

A sequel and continuation of ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL, THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL is a spiritually moving and mystical book.

One may read this book here:

http://www.carmelitemonks.org/Vocation/DarkNight-StJohnoftheCross.pdf

 

Duruelo

Duruelo is a municipality located in the province of Segovia, Castile and León, Spain. It was here that the first convent of the Discalced Carmelite Friars was opened on November 28th, 1568.

The chapters thirteen and fourteen of the book of the Foundations recount the establishment of the first foundation of Carmelite friars in the village of Duruelo. This was shortly after our Holy Mother St. Teresa of Avila was introduced to a young Carmelite (John) who went on to become the great mystic and the father of our Order, St. John of the Cross!

In 1568, with two other Carmelites, he founded the first Carmelite reformed monastery at Duruelo.

St John of the Cross was the first friar to enter the first foundation at Duruelo.