The Collected Works Of St. John Of The Cross

The fourth centenary of the death of St. John of the Cross inspired this revised edition of the English translation of his writings. The result is an edition that preserves the true meaning of the great mystic's writings, presents them as clearly as possible and at the same time gives the reader the doctrinal and historical information that will lead to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the teachings of the Mystical Doctor. Included in The Collected Works are St. John's poetry, The AJcmt ofMowz! Carmel, The Dark Night, The Spiritual Canticle, and Tbe LiPing Flame 4 Lol'e, as well as his letters and other counsels. There is a General Introduction for the entire work and brief, enlightening introductions for each specific work explaining theme and structure. Enhancing these are the new footnotes, glossary of terms and index. $15.95 ICS PUBLICATIONS Washington, DC ISBN 0-935216-14-6 The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross A CHRIST CRUCIFIED DRAWING BY ST. JoHN OF THE CRoss The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross REVISED EDITION Translated by Kieran Kavanaugh, 0. C.D. and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. With Revisions and Introductions by Kieran Kavanaugh, 0. C.D. ICS Publications Institute of Carmelite Studies Washington, D.C. Copyright© 1 99 1 by the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelite Friars, Inc. Institute of Carmelite Studies ICS Publications 2 1 3 1 Lincoln Road NE Washington, D.C. 20002-1 1 99 Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data John of the Cross, Saint, 1 542-1591 [Works. English. 1 99 1 ] The collected works of St. John of the Cross/ translated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez; with introductions by Kieran Kavanaugh.- Rev. ed. em. p. Translation of: Obras de San juan de la Cruz Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN: 0-935 2 1 6-1 5-4 (hard.) ISBN: 0-9352 1 6-1 4-6 (pbk) 1 . Mysticism-Catholic Church 2. Catholic Church-Doc trines. I. Title II. Title: Collected works of Sain t john of the Cross. BX890J62331 3 1 99 1 230'.2-dc20 90-267 1 3 CIP CONTENTS 7 Foreword GENERAL INTRODUCTION Biographical S/wtch Biographical Chronology The Writings Note on The Drawing of Christ on the Cross 9 28 33 37 POETRY Introduction to the Poetry Poems 41 44 THE SAYINGS OF LIGHT AND LOVE Introduction to The Sayings of Light and Love The Sayings 83 85 THE ASCENT OF MOUNT CARMEL Introduction to The Ascen t of Mount Carmel Sketch o f the Mount Theme Stanzas Prologue Book One Book Two Book Three 101 1 10 1 13 1 13 1 14 1 18 154 267 THE DARK NIGHT Introduction to The Dark Night Prologue Stanzas Book One Book Two 353 358 358 360 395 THE SPIRITUAL CANTICLE Introduction to The Spiritual Canticle Prologue Stanzas Theme Commentary 461 469 470 477 477 THE L�NG FLAME OF LOVE Introduction to The Living Flame of Love Prologue Stanzas Commentary 633 638 639 641 SPECIAL COUNSELS Introduction to The Precautions The Precautions Introduction to Counsels to a Religious Counsels to a Religious Introduction to the Censure Censure and Opinion 719 720 725 725 730 730 LETTERS Introduction to The Letters Letters 735 736 GLOSSARY AND INDICES Glossary General Index Scriptural Index 767 779 807 FOREWORD The Collected Works ofSt.John ofthe Crossfirst appeared, in a one volume edition, in 1964. Since then numerous reprintings have been made in both hardback and paperback. In 1 979, our publishers printed a second edition that added an index and two brief, previously unknown letters. During the years that our English translation has been