Saint John of the Cross - Paschasius of Our Lady of Mt Carmel (1919)

7/30/2019 Saint John of the Cross - Paschasius of Our Lady of Mt Carmel (1919)

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SAINT JOHN^ OF THE CROSS


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Saint Johnof the cross

By FATHER PASCHASIUS HERIZ, O. C. D.COLLEGE OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL

WASHINGTON, D. C.1919


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mtbil bstat:Fathee Alexis Coll, O.C.D.Fathee Joseph Maey of the Immacu-

late Conception, O.C.D.Censores Deputati,

IFmprlmatur:James Caedinal Gibbons

Archbishop of Baltimore,


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^uliimttXB

I am very glad to recommend this new Lifeof the Mystical Doctor, St. John of the Cross.This work comes at a most opportmie time.

If ever the world felt the need of the beautifulteachings of the Saviour of Men, it feels it now,when, after four years of war, human philoso-phy has proved how futile it is to satisfy theheart and mind of man. This ideal of conductand right thinking is to be found in the life ofSt. John of the Cross, who interpreted in termsof daily experimental contact with the world,the all-satisfying lessons of Christ.

Moreover, the fact that the Life of St. Johnof the Cross comes from the pen of Eev. Pas-chasius of the Carmelite Community at theCatholic University of America, is sufficientguarantee of its scholarship and authenticity.

I beg God's blessing upon this work and trustthat the wholesome and exalted personal influ-ence of the great Spanish Mystic may touch thehearts of all readers.

J. Caed. Gibboits.September 19, 1919.


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WOEKS OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CEOSSSubida del Monte Carmelo ^Ascent of MountCarmelNoche oscura *Dark NightCantico espiritiial *Spiritual CanticleLlama de amor viva ^Living Flame of LoveCautelas *PrecautionsCuatro avisos a un religioso Four Counsels to

a ReligiousAvisos y sententias ^Counsels and MaximsDictamenes de espiritu Spiritual OpinionsCartas espirituales ^Spiritual LettersPoesias *PoemsColoquios entre el espose Cristo y su esposa elalmo Colloquies between Christ and the

SoulTratado breve del conocimiento oscuro de DiosBrief tract on the Knowledge of God in

DarknessTransformacion del alma en Dios Transfor-

mation of the Soul in GodUnion del alma con Dios Union of the Soul

with GodMarks those works which have been translated intoEnglish.


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PEEFACEAs in every normal and perfect birth, the

holy order of Carmel was born of a father andmother. The mother, origin and prmcipal inthis spiritual generation, was the Most BlessedVirgin Mary. Centuries before her own birth,foreseen in a mysterious cloud, the holy prophetElias worshiped her, and in her honor, by theinspiration of the Holy Ghost, he establishedthe ancient and venerable Order of Carmel.Thus the Most Holy Virgin is the principalcause and original patroness of the order, itsspecial protection, its faithful and most affec-tionate mother, manifesting God's design byher activity throughout the ages.The father of Carmel was the wonderful and

holy Prophet Elias, ardent zealot of the gloryof God, voice of his oracles and righthand ofhis power, born in flames and fed, according toSt. Epiphanius, by angels with flames insteadof milk, taken to heaven in a chariot of fire, andthere blissfully held in mystery to return asdefender of the Church and forerunner ofChrist when he comes to judge the living andthe dead.Such are the parents of the illustrious and

most ancient family of Carmel.Similarly, in its renovation, when, throughthe reform of the Discalced Carmelites in Spain,


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6 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSthe order was bom anew, God provided for it amother in St. Teresa of Jesns, who performed,the office and mirrored the virkies of the BlessedVirgin Maiy. As Mary, without offense to hervirginal purity, became mother of God and ofhis children, so Teresa, preserving for herdivine spouse the treasure of her virginity,became the spiritual mother of innumerablechildren of Carmel.The father of the reformed Carmel was a

second Elias, like to the first in name, in spirit,armed with burning zeal, attired in penitentialapparel, glowing with the flames of seraphicardor and winning his way to the highest top ofthe mystical Mount Carmel. This was ourblessed and most devoted father, St. John of theCross, brightness and glory of the reformedfamily of Carmel, their master, captain, guide.Though he is the first-bom spiritual son of

St. Teresa, he is at the same time our cherishedand revered father, for from the very begin-ning he fostered us. In Holy Writ, Ner is calledthe father of his brother Cis, and Igal the sonof his brother Nathan. So, in our holy order,the first-born son of St. Teresa and belovedbrother of all the Discalced Carmelites, is nev-ertheless truly our father as well.Now in order that the second generation ofCarmel should be like its first generation, Godgave us St. Teresa in the likeness of the Most


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 7Holy Virgin Mary, and St. John of the Cross,a perfect figure of St. Elias. Moreover thereis a wonderful likeness between St. Teresa andSt. John of the Cross in their supernaturalgifts, their wisdom and their mastery in thedoctrines of mystical theology and the ways ofthe Spirit. We leave the glories of St. Teresato her own incomparable history of herself. Inthis brief narration of the life of St. John ofthe Cross we shall find him likewise a real apos-tle and prophet, powerful in words and works,and gifted with the double spirit of St. Elias.


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THE LIFE OF ST. JOHN OF THE CEOSSCHAPTER FIEST

BlETHPLACE AND FaMILY OF OuR HoLY FaTHEROur holy father was a Spaniard, born at Hon-

tiveros (Fons Tiberii), a noble village of OldCastile, in the diocese of Avila and not far fromthat city. His father was Gonzalo de Yepes,whose family gave its name to an ancient villagein the vicinity of Toledo. His mother, CatalinaAlvarez, was a native of Toledo.Though Gonzalo de Yepes belonged to a rich

and noble family, we shall j&nd him in a veryhumble condition, working as a poor weaver.It came about in this wise: When his fatherdied at Yepes he was taken by one of his uncles,a rich merchant, to Toledo, and employed in thebusiness of the house. This took him on fre-quent visits to Medina del Campo, at that timea very flourishing city. Gonzalo was accus-tomed to break his journey at Hontiveros, lodg-ing at the house of a widow of Toledo who hadin her charge a friendless orphan named Cata-lina Alvarez. Gonzalo admired her virtues,especially her innocence and fervent Catholicdevotion, qualities which he esteemed more thanall the riches of the world.Without consulting his family or even speak-

ing a word on the subject with his kindred,Gonzalo made Catalina his wife. This, in the


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10 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Sopinion of Ms relatives, was a family disgrace.They disowned Mm; abandoned Mm entirely.Thenceforth he was an outcast, as poor as Mspenmless wife. Eemembering that St. Jo-seph, descendant of a royal sceptre, spouse ofthe Queen of Heaven and foster-father of theSon of God, wielded a plane, Gonzalo very sim-ply accommodated himself to his wife's estate,and learned from her the art of weaving silksand brocades. But his gains were so scantythat poverty came upon him like an armed man.In the penury and toil of their life at Honti-

veros three children were born to Gonzalo deYepes and Catalina Alvarez, Francis, Lms andour holy father. Saint John of the Cross. Thecharitable widow who had been a mother tothe motherless Catalina Alvarez, died ; and thepoverty-stricken family no longer received fromher the help to which they had been accustomed.Then Gonzalo fell ill, and after ingering in painfor two years, died, leaving to his children thesole inheritance of an unsullied name. He hadlived a good and pious life, in patience and hu-mility conforming himself to the will of God.His widow, in great distress of mind and body,visited his relatives and implored help in be-half of his orphaned children, but in vain. Ee-turning to Hontiveros she earned their breadwith her own hands, John, the youngest, beingan infant still in arms. In later vears her hero-


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 11ism was rewarded by the love and venerationof our holy mother, Saint Teresa, who com-manded the Carmelite nuns of Medina delCampo to care for her till her death. Theycherished her most tenderly and after her deathburied her among the deceased sisters of thecommunity.In spite of her poverty, Catalina Alvarezmade provision for the education of her chil-

dren from their earliest childhood. But Luis,the second born, died in the bloom of his inno-cence; and Francis, the eldest, made littleprogress in human learning. Accordingly hismother set him to the weaver's trade, in whichhe lived and died as did his father before him.For a time they lived in Arevalo, where Francismarried Ana Izquierda; then in, 1551, theymoved to Medina del Campo.

Francis was twenty years of age when hecame to Medina, but he was an old man in graceand goodness, given to mortification andprayer. In summer, like Isaac of old, he spentthe nights in the fields praying to God. Inwinter he retired at nightfall into some church,or, if illness prevented, into a quiet comer ofhis own house, never dispensing himself, butpraying without ceasing. This was his habitall his life, and for this God visited him in vis-ions and revelations, trances and di^nne locu-tions: but never in the wealth of this world.


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12 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSHe had eight children. Seven died in infancy;one became a Cistercian nun in the monasteryof the Holy Ghost at Olmedo.Francis outlived his younger brother, Saint

John of the Cross. He died at midnight onFriday, the feast of Saint Andrew, 1607; andthen the whole city of Medina del Campo wasmoved, for he was regarded as a saint ; he hadwrought miracles, and had the gift of prophecy.He had been the poorest man in the city, but thecanons of the collegiate church and representa-tives of four religious orders went to his houseto bring him to the Church at St. Ana. Hewas borne on the shoulders of the friars ofCarmel and of the canons, the latter doing forthe poor weaver what they would not have donefor the greatest personage in Spain.


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OF SAINT JOHN OP THE CROSS 13

CHAPTER SECONDBiKTH OF St. John of the Ceoss. His Child-

hood. The Mothek of God Pkesekves HisLife.

In the year 1542, when Paul III was Pope andCharles V King of Spain, our holy father, SaintJohn of the Cross, was born in Hontiveros.Was he bom on the twenty-fourth of June, orthe twenty-seventh of December? We do notknow, but it must have been one or the other ofthese days, because he received the name Johnin baptism. It seems providential that we donot know which was his birthday or which hispatron saint; for being, like the Baptist, themost perfect model of monks, and, like theEvangelist, the most sublime mystical writer,he resembles both in spirit as well as in name.As stated in the first volume of the extant bap-tismal record of the parish church of Honti-veros, a fire which reduced the church to ashesin July, 1546, consumed the book in which thebaptism of our holy father was recorded.

Catalina Alvarez reared her children in ut-most poverty, but with the greatest care andmotherly affection. She taught them to invokethe most sweet name of Jesus, to keep alwayson their lips the holy name of Mary, to jointheir voices to the universal prayer of the


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14 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'SChurch, to fear God, to venerate holy things,to shun evil and love virtue. To safeguard herchildren from all ideas less holy and pure thanthese, she worked by their side and made her-self the companion of their play.

Blessed by Almighty God with such a moth-er, little John made wonderful progress. Heseemed to have a natural inclination to piety*He was so meek, quiet and humble that his gen-tleness belied his age; while the flowers of histender years gave promise of the seasonedfruits of his maturity. God formed in hisyouthful soul a most wonderful image of highperfection.We have the following story to remind us ofthe signal favors bestowed on him from earliestchildhood by his heavenly mother, the BlessedVirgin. One day little John with another childof his own age was playing beside a deep,muddy pool, throwing reeds into the water andrecovering them when they rose again to thesurface. Bending too far over the brink tocatch his reed, little John fell into the pool andat once sank out of sight. But he immediatelyreturned to the surface, like one of the reeds,and remained there without being injured orin the least disturbed. He was quite clear in hisconviction that he had been saved from deathby the queen of heaven. And now she appearedto him, stretching out her most pure hand and


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 15asking him to place his own in it that she mightdraw him from the pool. But John, seeing herso pure and heavenly, declined, for fear of sul-lying her. The queen repeated her request, andhe made his excuses, in a serene and beautifulcontest of courtesy, until a man in peasant garbcame bearing a rod in his hand, stretched it tothe child and drew him safely to the bank ; thenwent his way. Those who tell the tale favor thebelief that this was none other than SaintJoseph.The apparition filled the child with joy. Thefervent devotion of that day never desertedhim, and whenever he passed that place in afteryears he made a devout pilgrimage to the spotto renew with grateful tears his consecration ofhimself to the Mother of God. Pharaoh's daugh-ter and Moses floating on the waters of the Nileare to us a feeble foreshadowing of this queenof heaven whose most pure hand was out-stretched to save the future leader of God'schosen people, the great family of Carmel, fromout the Egypt of this world, through thepenitential life of the monastery, to the holymountain of interior peace.


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16 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'S

CHAPTER THIRD.The Blessed Child John is Attacked by the

Devil. He Conquoks the Enemy WithReligious Fiemness. His Devotion in As-sisting AT Mass. He Enters the HospitalOF Medina del Campo. He is Saved AgainBY THE Blessed Mother From CertainDeath.

The devil was not pleased with the happy be-giimiiigs of the life of John. He could see inthem the loss he was destined to suffer throughthe servant of God. Always, from afar, thedevil forecasts the Christian perfection of thosewho are called by God to eminent sanctityhow, we do not know. Perhaps he sees in thehumors and qualities of their bodies a physicalaptitude for virtuous living. Perhaps he iswarned by the superior excellence and dignityof the guardian angels who are given to them.Perhaps he sees also some special signs of theextraordinary providence God bestows on themfrom the very moment of their creation. Inwhatever manner he may acquire this knowl-edge, whether by the natural sagacity of hispowerful intellect, or by some special divinedispensation, one thing is certain, that fromtheir earliest infancy the devil is accustomedto persecute the elect with terrific rage.


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 17Seeing, therefore, in our saint, sncli a promptdisposition for every virtue, sucli extraordinary-

favors, including the personal protection of theMother of God; seeing also, perhaps, togetherwith all this, some very superior guardianangel assigned to care for him, and knowingthese things to be signs of the wonderful sanc-tity and power which would war against him ashis capital enemy, the devil wished to stop allin the very beginning by taking the child's life.Failing in this, he was determined to discour-age and frighten him to such an extent that hewould abandon his purpose to live virtuously.The venerable Francis de Yepes, brother ofour saint, relates that when both were verysmall they were going in company with theirgood mother to Medina. Just before enteringthe city they had to pass a pool, probably thesame from which our Lady had saved him, andthere a large, fierce monster came out of it andattacked him, trying to swallow him up ; but he,without fear or distress, made the sign of thecross to defend himself, and immediately thehorrible vision disappeared. Herein were sym-bolized all the troubles and persecutions bywhich the saint was afflicted during his life, andthe triumphs our holy father achieved over thedevil by the holy cross, making it a part of hisname, and planting it firmly in the reformedCarmel.


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18 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUPFERINa'SOur little Jolin was growing more rapidly invirtue than in years. His pious mother, wishing

to guide him to well-rounded perfection, triedto induce him to learn some trade ; but the boy,so quick and intelligent at school, was too dullto learn any of those common in the city. Fran-cis de Yepes says his holy brother was ap-prenticed in succession to the tailor's, carpen-ter's, engraver's and painter's trades. Hisability to earn a living was tried in many ways,but he could not be taught. He did not seem tohave the power of learning anything whatever.It was waste of time.God had higher work for him, and made hismother send him to school. She cherished verymuch the idea of placing him in a good college,but her extreme poverty came in the way, andshe had to be contented with a school in Medinawhere poor and orphaned children were edu-cated. Here John remained some time attend-ing to his studies and other exercises, especiallythose of prayer and devotion, in which he wasa model to the other children. At this time heused to go early in the morning to the monas-tery of St. Mary Magdalene, of the Augustiniannuns. There he served mass with such recol-lection and devotion as to attract the notice ofthose who were present, and inspire them toserve God more faithfully.Unalloyed virtue is so lovely in itself thatthe human heart cannot resist its beauty. Our


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OF SAINT JOHN OP THE CROSS 19blessed child had neither friends nor family norriches, nor other natural gifts to attract affec-tion, but his wonderful virtues, even in tender-est childhood, were irresistibly winsome. Poorand forsaken by all, his modesty, gentleness andprudence caused him to be universally admiredand loved. Among those whom he attractedmost was a gentleman from Toledo, Alonso Al-varez, who, weary of the world, devoted himselfto the service of the poor and the sick. He hadtaken on himself the charge of the hospital ofMedina. Knowing well the wonderful virtuesof little John and his hopeless struggle to earnbread for himself and his mother, Senor Alvarezwent to her and offered to take the boy into hisservice in the hospital.John was twelve or thirteen years of age.His character had already in many respectsattained majority. His new patron proposedthat he should serve the poor, at the same timecontinuing his studies. Afterwards he intendedto ordain him priest, and make him chaplain andsuperintendent of the large and flourishing in-stitution. The offer was gladly accepted bymother and son, and Juan de Yepes became theservant of the poor in the public hospital ofMedina.

Shortly afterwards, being at work in thecourt yard of the place, he fell into a well whichhad been left uncovered. The people who sawhim fall made an outcry, thinking it was impos-


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20 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSsible to save him, for the well was deep andthere was much water in it. Eescuers rushedinto the court yard and looked into the well.There they saw the boy resting on the surfaceof the water, calm and unhurt. He answeredtheir cries quietly and cheerfully. Havingdrawn him up by a rope, they asked him howit had happened. He replied with great sim-plicity that a beautiful lady had received himin her arms as he was falling and sustainedhim till they came and let down the rope.The people wondered, and accounted the boy

as one whom God was preserving for greatthings. Eecalling his already marvelous life,they looked at one another and repeated whatwas said of the great Baptist, precursor ofChrist, *^What an one, think ye, shall this childbe? For the hand of the Lord was with him."(St. Luke 1-66).


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 21

CHAPTER FOURTHHis Chaeity foe the Pooe. His Studies. His

Peayee axd Rigoeous Penance. CheistOuE LoED is the Model of His Life andActions. His Tendee Devotion to theBlessed Mothee.

Now tliat the hospital afforded him many oc-casions to practice virtues, they shone in himwith new splendor. Forgetful of sleep andweariness, he watched day and night at thebed-side of the poor. He did not feel his ownfatigues but only the pains of his dear patients,giving them medicines and care with more thanmotherly affection. Here our Lord commencedto show him the rich mines of the virtue ofcharity and he began to enrich himself with itstreasures. He learned to sympathize with thepoor sufferer confined to a painful bed whoseonly relief and consolation are the loving kind-ness of his nurse. He caressed the weak, en-couraged the feeble, associated himself with thelonely, entertained and consoled the sorrowfuland devoted himself with extreme diligence to^the necessities of all.Having fulfilled these obligations, he spent

the rest of his time in study and prayer, payingto each of them so much attention that, with thegrace of God and his brilliant mind, in a short


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22 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGStime he made wonderful progress botli in prayerand learning. Abont his aptitude and love forstudies, his brother, Francisco de Yepes, says,^^He was placed by his mother during the firstschool years, in the College of Christian Doc-trine. They taught him there to read and write,and in a very short time he learned both verywell. ' ' Further on he says, ^ ^ Being there in thehospital, this gentleman, Don Alfonso Alvarez,asked him to make collections for the poor.This gentleman and all the other persons ofthe hospital loved him very much. They gavehim leave to go and study Latin in the Jesuitcollege. His professor was Padre Bonifacio,who is still living. He was so clever in hisstudies that, with the aid of God, he progressedrapidly in a very short time. They related inthe hospital that looking for him in the night,often they could not find him till at last theydiscovered him in the barn studying'' (Rela-ciones, Fol. 613).

In the Jesuit college he studied grammar andrhetoric, displaying exceptional capacity. Lateron, in philosophy, his sagacity penetrated themost delicate subtilties of metaphysics. Begin-ning already at this time, he consecrated hislearning to the knowledge of God and himselfas related to God, which is the supremely legiti-mate use of learning. That part of philosophywhich explains the nature and properties of the


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 23human soul he studied with greatest care, try-ing to understand well its functions and effectsin our body, its faculties, the organs and sensesthrough which it operates, and the manner ofunderstanding in the present life, by means ofthe forms and likeness of things, called phan-tasms by the philosophers. He knew thesestudies would help him understand prayer andcontemplation. His admirable writings, in whichhe makes use of rigid philosophical principlesto explain with great preciseness the most inti-mate operations of the soul, both in ordinaryprayer and in the highest supernatural com-munications with God, are a monument to hisdiligence as a student of philosophy.

"With the same eagerness and devotion hepracticed mental prayer. From his earliest ageour Lord began to visit him with divine com-munications, giving him a foretaste of heavenlysweetness and light. He went to prayer as toa divine school, where the Sovereign Master en-lightened his mind and moved his will to loveheavenly things and despise the perishablegoods of earth, to know the beauty of virtueand the foulness of vice. It was in prayer thathe learned to deny himself and mortify hissenses ; to distrust every sensible affection, andto be ^ * sober, having on the breastplate of faithand charity, and, for a helmet, the hope of sal-vation '' (IThess. 5-8).


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24 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSThe effects of his wonderful spiritual devel-opment were manifest in his acts and manner

of living. He chastised his body, though inno-cent, with vigils, fastings, disciplines and hair-shirts. Not satisfied with the heavy work ofassisting the sick at the hospital, and manyhours of prayer, when night came he continuedhis efforts to pray. He struggled against theweakness of his body until he had thoroughlyexpelled drowsiness, in order that prayer mightbe prolonged. When he was at last overcomeby sleep, he mortified this solace with the hard-ness of his bed, which consisted of a heap oftwigs. This penitential custom was observed inhim as early as his seventh year.From the very moment of the use of his rea-

son he offered himself to the Lord, presentinghis body a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing untoGod, his reasonable service, as St. Paul exhortsus (Eom. 12, 1). He practised from that tenderage what he enjoined on others many yearslater in the Ascent of Mount Carmel, ' ^ First ofall, have a constant care and desire of imitatingChrist in everything, conforming yourself tohis life, which you must study well to know howto follow it; behave in all things like Christhimself. '^ In this manner he printed in hissoul the image of Christ our Lord, and in thisdivine and most brilliant mirror he studied howto order all his actions. At every step he ques-


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 25tioned himself, **If Christ our Lord was doingwhat I am going to do, and was in my state inlife, and represented my person and office, howwould he behave ? How would he be and act onthis occasion? How would he study? Howwould he attend holy mass? With what rever-ence and confidence would he devote himself toprayer? With what love and affection wouldhe attend and nurse the sick?''

*^Be thou, Lord, my master," he used tosay, * ^for thou art my model and pattern. Teachme what to do and how to do it, that I may con-form all my actions with thy divine actions.'*Not with less confidence and affection did heconsecrate himself to the Most Holy Virgin.

Mindful of the favors he had received at hermotherly hands, he tried to compensate her byunceasingly growing in devotion to her. Hesaid the rosary and the little office daily on hisknees, and remained long hours in her presence.


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CHAPTER FIFTHThe Lokd Coitsoles Him. His Ambitio^t to Be-

come Peefect. He is Shown a EevelationTHAT He Will Help in the ReeoemationOF Caemel. He is Received in the CaemelOF Medina.

Wliile tlie only desire of John was to pleasethe Lord, His Majesty was filling his soul withconsolations and treasures, and the more mer-cies he received from God, so much the more heshowed his gratitude by preparing himself forfurther graces.When he was a young man of twenty years,he was as guileless as a child of two, and asprudent as a man of fifty. Never were seen inhim the failings peculiar to twenty years; nolevity, no restlessness or disorder whatever.He avoided frivolous company and worthlessentertainments, and in this way he found muchtime for every virtuous exercise. What gamesever distracted him from his study? What jokesfrom his earnestness? Profane spectacles didnot attract his eyes, nor perishable goods hiswill. From the world he coveted nothing but itscontempt. The school, the church, and the hos-pital were dearest to him. The prudence of hiswords, the modesty of his aspect, and the gen-tleness of his maimers made him amiable and


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 27venerable. It is enough to say that the enlogyof Tobias was verified in him, ^^And when hewas younger than any of the tribe of Nephtali,yet did he no childish thing in his work'' (Tob.1-4). The old monks gave to the great Macariusof Egypt the name Paidariogeron, which, trans-lated to our language, means old-youth, or, asthe Latin has it, puer centum annorum. Suchwas John, and such were not only the signs, butthe evident proofs of the natural and supernat-ural gifts with which he was endowed.Great and generous souls often show in their

childhood a kind of vicious exuberance, suresigns of great capacity and natural talent forvirtue and of the fruits which right educationwill develop in them. But our John did notmanifest any youthful waywardness. He pro-duced well-seasoned fruits of high perfectionfrom the very first, and this we may considerevidence of his destiny, not only to be a modelof the highest perfection, but also to establish,or re-establish, it in organized society.In earnest of this, our Lord visited him with

a marvelous vision. The devout young manwas praying one day with his accustomed fer-vor and devotion, asking the Lord to guide himto the state of life in which he could serve himbest, being entirely resigned to the divine will,saying with the psalmist, ^'I have put my trustin thee, Lord ; I said, ' Thou art my God, my


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2^ PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Slots are in thy hands' '' (Psalm 30 :15, 16). TheLord heard his prayer, and consoled him, say-ing, ^'Thou art to serve me in an order, theancient perfection of which thou shalt help tobring back again. 'He understood that God wished him to be-

come a religions, and he was content; but hecould not understand that he was to do so greata work as to recover the former greatness ofany order. He shrank from the task, and, sofar as he could, banished the thought of it fromhis mind ; for he looked upon it as a snare andoccasion of delusion to his soul. He confessedthis at a later time to the saintly nun, the Ven-erable Anne of Jesus.Hitherto he had no thought about religious

life as possible for him, but from this time forththe desire to leave the world, into which he hadnever entered, grew very strong. The more heprayed, the more he longed to be a religious,but he was not inclined more towards one thananother order ; he was equally indifferent to alland all were equally desired. In this uncer-tainty, he redoubled his prayers and penances,asking most humbly the divine Majesty to en-lighten him in the choice of the order where hemight concentrate himself entirely to God.The Carmelites of the old observance hadcome to the city of Medina in the year 1560 and

founded the convent of St. Anne. One day


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 29John went to St. Anne^s, and at the sight of theCarmelite habit he was deeply moved. Neverbefore had it made such an impression on him.By this he understood that he was called toCarmel. He was glad he had been poor all hislife, and that he now could embrace poverty ashis bride and give himself up to our Lord in hispoverty.He went into the house and begged to be re-ceived into the order. The friars were pleased,because he was well known in the city. Accord-ingly, he received the habit on the Feast ofSt. Mathias, February 24, 1563, being then inthe twenty-first year of his age. He was de-lighted with his lot, reckoning himself as for-tunate as St. Mathias, who was numbered withthe twelve apostles ; and, therefore, he took thatname, calling himself John of St. Mathias. Heimproved his surname later, when his own con-dition was changed for the better, by callinghimself Father John of the Cross.


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CHAPTEE SIXTHHis Feevor in the Novitiate. His Zeal and

Peudence. His Pkofession. He K^eps thePrimitive Eule of Carmel.

During his novitiate his regularity and obe-dience, his fervor and recollection, his austeri-ties and penances, were a fountain of edificationto all in the house.Once his humility and prudence were severely

tested in a crisis which novices can rarely, ifever, meet without some imperfection. He waswith a father of the order who behaved some-what carelessly in the presence of seculars.John of Mathias was the only religious who sawthe fault committed. The historians have saidit was not a serious fault, but merely unbecom-ing in a Carmelite. The novice reminded thefather of his fault; and he did so with so muchhumility and discretion that the father not onlywas not offended, but, on the contrary, he cor-rected himself, and accepted the correction withjoy.

In the following year, in 1564, John made hisprofession before Fra Angel de Salazar, theprovincial of Castile. His great protector,Don Alonso Alvarez, was present at the cere-mony. The record of his profession, signed bythe saint, was preserved in the house as a pre-


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 31cious relic. A special book, very ricMy bound,was made to keep it, and also a very preciouscasket was made for it. This document and thesmall cell in which our saint lived, converted intoa chapel after his death, were kept in great ven-eration in that monastery, though the monas-tery itself never adopted the reform of St.Teresa. But the house ever afterwards retainedtraces of the saintly novice, John of St. Mathias,in the regular observance and edifying punctu-ality of the community in all its duties.

Seeing himself now a child of religion, whosemother and protector was the most holy motherof God, from whom he had received great fa-vors, he found it hard to satisfy his fervor ofgratitude towards God and the mother of Car-mel; therefore, he began to consider anew theobligations of his state.

Giving continual thanks to God for havingbrought him into the safe sanctuary of our Ladyof Mount Carmel, his first care was to studycarefully the rule of his order with the purposeof keeping it perfectly. He found that theorder, though professing the rule given by St.Albert, patriarch of Jerusalem, was not con-formed to the rule as it was given to the ancientCarmelites, nor as it was approved by InnocentIV; but lived according to the mitigated ruleapproved by Eugenius IV, who had dispensedwith its chief rigors and most heroic observ-


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32 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Sances. Discovering all these things, he procuredthe rule in its primitive form, and, reading itcarefully, he was inspired with an ardent desireof observing it in all its points. But, being achild of obedience, he would do nothing of hisown will ; he had once given his will to his supe-riors, and would never resume it again. How-ever, he could represent his wishes to them, anddid so. They listened to him, perhaps withsome misgiving, but they did not resist, lestthey should put out a flame which our Lord hadkindled. They gave him permission to observethe primitive rule, provided that no duty of thecommunity be neglected and the present disci-pline of the house be maintained in everything.He entered now on a life of penance, which,

under existing conditions, was much more se-vere than the primitive rule required. He waspresent at all the exercises of the community inchoir, chapter, and refectory, avoiding all ap-pearance of singularity, and outwardly differingin nothing from the other friars of the house.Yet he was fasting from the feast of the HolyCross in September till Easter in the followingyear, and abstaining wholly from flesh meatthroughout the year, according to the primitiverule. But, as no special provision was made forhim in the house, and he attended daily in therefectory where meat was served according tothe dispensation of Eugenius IV, it was hard


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 33for him to disguise his own mortification and atthe same time find food enough to support life.He had nothing in his cell, and he would not eatexcept at the appointed hours. He kept silencealso, according to the primitive rule, and forthat purpose used to retire to his cell the mo-ment he was free from the duties he had to dis-charge in public. He labored also with hishands, as the ancient hermits did, making in hiscell crosses, disciplines, and other instrumentsof penance; but his chief work was prayer,which is the true work of a friar of Carmel, forit is said in the rule, ^'Let all remain in theircells, or near them, meditating night and day inthe law of the Lord. ' ' He loved this holy exer-cise more than all the rest, and it struck downinto his heart very deep roots, producing themost excellent fruits of high contemplation andheroic sanctity. Nor did he forget the holy pov-erty recommended by the rule; and, therefore,he did not admit in his cell, bed, or dress, any-thing which was not absolutely necessary forthe use of human life and the decency of thereligious state. He procured a narrow, incom-modious and poor cell, an old patched habit,and everything else in his personal use showedpoverty and humility.


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34 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGS

CHAPTER SEVENTHHis Studies and Austekities in Salamanca.He Refuses the Peiestly Dignity, but is

BY Holy Obedience Obliged to Accept It.He is Confiemed in Geace Dueing HisFiEST Mass.

The superiors of tlie order, discerning inJohn of St. Mathias great talents for theologicalstudies, combined with sublime and rare virtues,determined to send him to their college in Sala-manca, that by the help of learning he mightbecome a laborer in the vineyard of the Lord.The college of the order in Salamanca was thenknown as the College of St. Andrew the Apos-tle, but later it was called St. Teresa's College.The school of theology in the university wascelebrated throughout Europe. The Dominicanshad given it professors of great namesFran-cis de Victoria, from the University of Paris;his famous pupil, Melchoir Cano, author of **DeLocis Theologicis ; " the celebrated Dominic deSoto, who assisted at the Council of Trent, andothers. To this great divinity school was sentJohn of St. Mathias in the year 1564.He was most diligent in attending the schools,but his studies never interfered with the severi-

ties of his penitential life. The life he led in


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 35Salamanca was not less admirable than the onehe had begun in Medina. Not satisfied with thefastings, abstinences, silence, and perpetualprayer commanded by the primitive rule, headded to them most terrific penances. He dweltin a very narrow and dark cell. All the light hehad came through a little hole in the roof. Ashallow box, more like a coffin than anythingelse, was his bed. In that coffin, without anycovering other than his habit, and a block ofwood for his pillow, Fra John took his rest atnight. But there was a window in his cell look-ing into the church. Through this window hecould see the tabernacle on the altar in whichour Lord was dwelling. That sight comfortedhim more than anything the world could showhim.His cell, so poor and edifying, has always

been held in great veneration, and is' now oneof the chapels or side altars in the church ofthe monastery.The primitive rule is austere enough even forsouls athirst for penance, but for John of St.Mathias the burden was too light. He girt hisloins with an iron chain studded with sharppoints. Next to his body he wore a dress madeof coarse grass, like a fisherman's net, the thickknots of which were as hard as stones ; this hecovered with the habit of the order. He relievedthe resultant unceasing distress by the use of


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36 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Sthe most cruel disciplines, the effects of whichcould not always be concealed from his com-panions and superiors.

It was a new and sharp penance to himwhen his secret mortifications became knownto others.Prayer and austerities were the two wings of

the spirit with which he made his flight to thetop of the mystical Mount of Carmel. Prayerwas his life, his food and nourishment. He ful-filled the great precept of the rule, to pray dayand night, meditating in the law of the Lord.Though he was allowed to keep the primitive

rule, he never failed to observe the minutestpractice in force in the house where he was liv-ing. He never dispensed himself, nor claimedany exemption on the ground that he kept amore austere rule than his brethren. Modest,humble, and silent, he did the work he had todo. Everything was in order within him; hewas regular in the house, punctual in the choirand in the schools ; no duty ever interfered withanother. Nor was he carried away by the loveof learning from the more important work ofprayer. He made the lectures he heard minis-ter to his prayer; and in prayer he found thelight which enabled him to profit by the lecturesof his learned masters.Always cheerful and recollected, he was heldin respect even by the turbulent youth of a


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 37great university, and by his superiors lie wasspecially beloved. On Ms way to and fromthe university he observed angelic modesty,kept his eyes fixed on the ground and his heartin heaven, and edified his fellow-students withhis exterior deportment. In public disputationshe spoke modestly and to the point. When de-feated in the contest, he acknowledged his op-ponent's skill, but was never troubled at hisown failure; neither was he elated when suc-cessful in his disputations. As soon as thescholastic exercises were over, he retired to thequiet of his cell, his mind disengaged fromscholastic subtleties, and his imagination freefrom the divers phantasms of contests whosedisorderly hubbub would have been an impedi-ment to his continual prayer. On account of hismarvelous virtues he was specially loved in hisown order and college, where the young lookedup to him with respect, the aged bestowed onhim their esteem and affection, and all tookgreat care not to say or do anything unseemlyin his presence.

In 1567, having completed his theologicalstudies and attained his twenty-fifth year, hewas commanded by his superiors to preparehimself for the priesthood. He had shrunkfrom that dignity when in the hospital of Me-dina del Campo, but it was not in his power nowto do what he did then. He was now under obe-


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38 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSdience. So, bewailing Hs great unworthiness,of which he alone was conscious, he went intoretreat, and was ordained priest in Salamancain the same year. As soon as he was ordained,his superiors sent him back to Medina del Cam-po, there to sing his first mass, partly becausehe belonged to that convent, having taken thehabit there, and partly to give pleasure to hispoor mother, who had trained him in povertyand had given him to serve our Lord in povertyfor the rest of his life.He came to Medina del Campo and began to

prepare himself to offer up for the first timethe sacrifice of the new law. He redoubled hisausterities and prolonged his vigils, giving him-self wholly to prayer. Always he had lived alife of detachment and purity; now he felt thatit was more necessary than ever for him to keepclose to God, lest sin should come between andseparate him from the only love of his soul. Onthe appointed day, he went up to the altar andmade the great oblation. Then, holding in hishands God, his maker, he prayed to him with allhis might for grace to persevere in purity oflife, and never to stain the innocence of hisbaptismal robe. The cry of the saint wentstraight to the heart of God, and John heard aninward voice saying, *^Thy prayer is granted."The holy priest, overflowing with joy, full of

humility and gratitude for such a favor, felt in


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 39his soul a spiritual renewal and strong convic-tion that God had granted him a child's purityand had confirmed him in grace as he had con-firmed the holy apostles.

These facts were attested by his confessorsunder oath, and were revealed by God to theVenerable Mothers Ana Maria of Jesus andBeatriz of St. Michael, who made sworn affida-vits of all the circumstances. This was not un-known to our holy mother St. Teresa, who usedto say frequently that Father John of the Crosswas one of the most pure and holy souls in theChurch; that God had infused in him greattreasures of purity and heavenly wisdom, andthat, in her opinion, he was a saint during allhis life.


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40 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINaS

CHAPTER EIGHTHSt. John of the Cross Intends to Become a

Carthusian. He Meets St. Teresa atMedina and Offers Himself to Her ForTHE Reformation of the Fathers.

Great graces from God bring with them anx-iety to safeguard them. Recalling the promisemade him while saying mass for the first time,St. John studied carefully the means in hispower to persevere in the state of divine grace.He saw how necessary it was for him to with-draw farther and farther from the commerce ofmen, and, if possible, retire into the wildernesswhere God communicates himself to the soul.He had made the offering of his whole self,and had nothing more to offer now; but it washis duty still to watch with Abraham, and driveaway the birds of the air, lest they should de-vour and defile the sacrifice. There seemed noother way before him except to leave the orderof Carmel and become a Carthusian; for thatwas the only order a mendicant monk couldenter.During this time, our mother St. Teresa had

reformed the order among the nuns and waslooking for some priest who had embraced therule to help her in the most arduous work ofreforming the fathers of Carmel also. The first


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 41thought and desire for discalced Carmelitefathers came from the generous and braveheart of St. Teresa. She had recourse toprayer, and with unceasing tears like anotherEachel, entreated God for children (Gen. 30-1).With this thought and desire, being in Medinadel Campo, wh^re she had just finished the sec-ond foundation of nuns, St. Teresa communi-cated confidentially her thoughts and desiresto Father Antonio de Heredia, prior of thecalced Carmelites of that city. He promised tobe the first to take off his shoes and become abarefooted friar of the primitive observance.St. Teresa was pleased with this resolution, butwas not fully satisfied, fearing that he would notbe strong enough to bear the austerities.

After his first mass in Medina, Father Johnof St. Mathias went back to Salamanca to finishhis course in the university. Later in the yearhe came back with Fra Pedro de Orozco toMedina, with the intention of going to the Car-thusians of Segovia, to hide himself from con-tact with men, that he might serve God withoutany distraction. He remained, however, in themonastery of St. Anne for some time, where hisresolution of going to the Carthusians wasknown at least to Fra Pedro, who told St. Te-resa what he knew of the fervent spirit hiddenin the frail body of Fra John of St. Mathias,and his earnest desire to become a Carthusian


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42 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Sfor the sake of a more perfect life than it waspossible to lead among the Carmelites of themitigation.Fra John .of St. Mathias was twenty-five

years old when he went at the urgent requestof Fra Pedro de Orozco to see St. Teresa in hermonastery of Medina. He had been about fouryears in the order, to the reform of which hewas now called by the voice of St. Teresa, whowas herself in her fifty-third year, and hadbeen in the order more than thirty-three years.The two saints met for the first time in theCarmelite house of St. Joseph in Medina delCampo. The nun told the friar what she in-tended to do, and the friar told her how he hadfor some time wished to become a Carthusianbecause he believed himself called to a life ofmore retirement and prayer. As the conversa-tion continued, and the older saint representedto the younger one that he would do greaterservice to God if he remained where he was andhelped her to restore the primitive rule of hisorder than if he left it to embrace another, FraJohn, humble and self-denying, yielded to thepersuasion of St. Teresa, and consented to doher bidding, provided the reform should becommenced without delay.He was the gift of God to St. Teresa, whowas now content. She had found the one man

on whom she could depend ; for though she had


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 43already accepted on certain conditions tlie priorof Medina, Fra Antonio de Heredia, she wasnot wholly satisfied with him, and, therefore,she waited a while, partly because of her wantof perfect confidence in Fra Antonio and partlybecause she had no house to give them, nor themeans wherewith to buy one. But her povertydid not trouble her; on the contrary, she wasgladdened by it.She used to say that she began the work when

she had found a friar and a half, referring tothe fact that Fra Antonio was a portly person-age of dignified presence and Fra John wassmall of stature and worn already by penances.There was nothing in him outwardly to com-mand the respect of ordinary men. But St.Teresa knew his worth. About the interpreta-tion of the words, ffiar and a half, there aretwo opinions. Some say St. Teresa referred tothe outward appearance of the two friars call-ing Fra Antonio, on account of his dignifiedpresence, one friar, and St. John of the Cross,because of his small stature and the wornoutcondition of his health, half a friar. Otherssay the Mystic Doctor referred to their moraland spiritual worth. Of this opinion are, be-sides the nuns of Medina who lived togetherwith the saint, Fra Manuel of St. Teresa, FraJose of St. Teresa, and many other writers ofthe order.


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44 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSThe two friars were willing to renounce themitigated observances of the order, and to un-

dertake the austerities of the primitive rule,but there was no house to lodge them, nor asingle penny to buy one for them. They were,like St. Teresa, mendicants, and had no pos-sessions; so they remained in the house of St.Anne of Medina, where they suffered manycrosses.

St. Teresa went from Medina, about the endof October, 1567, to Madrid, thence to the mon-astery of the venerable Maria of Jesus in Al-cala de Henares. In April, 1568, she made herfoundation in Malagon, and was preparing tomake another in Valladolid. In Malagon St.Teresa again met St. John of the Cross; andone day, while conversing together, both fellinto a trance, and were seen by Mother Isabelof the Incarnation. Fra John was in the parlorof the monastery, and St. Teresa on the otherside of the grating.In June, St. Teresa returned to Avila to makefinal arrangements for the foundation of Valla-dolid ; and while so occupied, Don Eafael MejiaValasquez, to whom she had never spoken be-fore, called upon her and offered a small cot-tage he had in Duruelo for the monastery ofthe discalced fathers. She accepted the offerwith great gratitude, and went to see the place.On the road she and her companions missed


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 45the wa;^, and so reached the place late at night.The house was so filthy that the saint and hercompanions did not venture to pass the nightin it. It had a porch, a small kitchen, and aroom with a low garret. St. Teresa consideredthat place the Bethlehem of the reformed Car-mel. Its utter wretchedness had won her.The night was spent in the neighboring

church. The next day St. Teresa reached Me-dina del Campo, and told the prior of the Car-melites that she had found the place. FraAntonio was not alarmed by the account theygave him about the house. He said he wouldstay gladly even in a pigpen, provided he couldkeep the primitive rule there. Fra John ofSt. Mathias had no objection. The poverty ofthe house was a spell that attracted him.But all the difficulties were not so easily over-

come. The general of the ord6r had given per-mission to found new monasteries on conditionthat the actual provincial and former provincialgave their consent. One of them, Fra Angel ofSalazar, had already been involved in troublewith St. Teresa, and probably had not forgot-ten it.


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CHAPTEE NINTHSt. John of the Cross Takes the Habit of theEefoemation iiT Mediita del Campo. He

Accompanies St. Teeesa to Valladolid.He Goes From Theee to Dueuelo andBegins the Eefoem.

St. John of the Cross, before leaving with St.Teresa for the foundation of Yalladolid, tookthe habit of the reformation in the speak-roomof Medina del Campo in the presence of thefoundress. This is stated by several witnessesand specially by Dr. Alvaro de Marmol, Isabelde Santiago, Oonstanza Eodriguez, Juan LopezOsorio and Catalina de Jesus. But until hewent to Duruelo, he did not continue wearingthe habit of the reformation for, as we shallsee later, after having said the first mass inDuruelo, he put the new habit on the altar,blessed it, and then clothed himself with it.St, Teresa went to Valladolid to make thefoundation there, and took with her Fra Juanthat hemight see the way in which the rule waskept. In Valladolid the nuns had to live forsome time in a monastery unenclosed, on ac-count of the workmen in the house. Thisenabled him to see better their ways.While he was thus, in a manner, novice asecond time, St. Teresa was engaged in getting


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 47the necessary permission of the provincial, FraAlonso Gonzalez, who came at this time to Val-ladolid. He was not willing to accept the newfoundation under his jurisdiction; but thebishop of Avila and his sister, Dona Maria deMendoza, friends of St. Teresa, came also toValladolid, andhelped her to the utmost oftheir power. The two provincials gave theirconsent at last, moved not a little by some diffi-culties of their own, for the removal of whichthey wanted the help of the bishop's sister.This opportunity of learning the holy customs

and manner of life in the reformation of St.Teresa, and the privilege of the most intimatecommunication with her, were acknowledgedand repaid by Fra Juan, not only with the rareexample of his holy life and heavenly conversa-tion, but also by giving both to St. Teresa andher daughters the spiritual nourishment of con-ferences, hearing confessions and directingthem to the highest perfection. With this hebegan his intimate and life-long connection withSt. Teresa as her spiritual son and master ofherself and her daughters. He was the firstconfessor and spiritual director of the discalcedCarmelites, fathers and sisters.Every hindrance was now removed. The

foundation of the first monastery of the bare-footed Carmelites was not only possible butlegal according to the constitution of the order,


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48 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSand it was made with the full sanction of thegeneral, to the great joy of those who wereabout to begin the reform of Carmel.

St. Teresa and her nuns, with their ownhands, made the habit of the first friar of thereform, Fra Juan of St. Mathias. With thathabit, but not wearing it, and with the meansof saying mass, he left Valladolid for Duruelo.One of the workmen employed in repairing themonastery of the nuns was sent with him, be-cause his service would be greatly needed inthe ruined house which was to be the cradle ofthe reform of the friars.When he was saying farewell to the nuns he

said, before all the sisters, ^^ Mother, as you arethe cause of my undertaking this work for theservice of God, ask him to give me his grace,that I may commence it for his glory, and on itand on myself bestow your holy blessing.''

St. Teresa with her nuns wept tears of joyat the humility of the father and promised himtheir prayers. Then, falling on their knees,they begged him who had been their spiritualfather and confessor, as the priest of the Lord,to bless them.Fra Juan took leave of the saint and went to

Duruelo to lay the foundations of the reformof the friars of Carmel. He had never seen thehouse of Duruelo, which was to be the firstmonastery of the order, until he went thither to


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Oli^ SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 49take possession of it in the autumn of 1568. Itspoverty-stricken condition had an irresistiblecharm for him, and he entered it with joy in hisheart, because he had found his true rest onearth. He began at once to put the house inorder. First of all he made the church in alittle porch of the house, which represented thestable of Bethlehem where our Lord was bom.The only ornaments of the church were a num-ber of crosses made of branches of trees, andas many skulls as crosses, which caused bothhorror and edification. The choir was in thegarret over the inner chamber. It had a littleroof sloping on both sides, so low at the endsthat one had to kneel to go into the apartment.The window was a little hole in the roof whichwas opened and closed by a tile, so badly fittedthat wind, rain and snow had free passage in.At both ends of the choir he built two littlecells, so narrow and low that the dweller had tostretch out or kneel down in them, because theywere at the ends of the garret. He spread alittle straw in them to make them more like thestable of Bethlehem. He supplied stones forpillows. A cross and a skull were the preciousfurniture of these cells. Each one had its littlewindow looking to the tabernacle, the mostpleasing vista possible for the dwellers therein.The domestic part of the monastery had less

grandeur than the church and choir. The small


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50 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERINGSroom under the choir was divided into two orthree little cells, adorned with the same furni-ture as those already described. The littlekitchen of the old house was divided into two,one being used for kitchen and the other forrefectory. The furniture and kitchen-utensilsof these departments were gay indeed. In therefectory he placed a piece of a rough boardfor a table. A broken pitcher and pumpkin-shells served as dishes. The kitchen boasted acouple of old pots which were used not veryoften.Such was the whole monastery as our holy

father prepared it for the cradle of our holyorder. When the work was done, it was late inthe evening. Fra Juan sent the workman whowas with him to the village to beg for food, forthere was none in the monastery. The peoplegave him some broken bread and with this theybroke the fast of that day.The greater part of the night, notwithstand-ing the labor of the day before, was spent by

Fra Juan in prayer. In the morning, havingprepared the altar, he said holy mass. Thehabit he had received from St. Teresa he laidon the altar and blessed it, and at the end ofmass he put it on. He had no shoes nor stock-ings, nothing to protect his feet from theground. He was as poor as man could well beand in as poor a monastery as any in the world.


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 51Outwardly and inwardly detached, lie fell onhis knees, and, with fervent thanksgiving com-mended himself and his work to our Lordthrough the intercession of his most holymother, who had been his singular protectressfrom his childhood up to that day.


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52 , PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'S

CHAPTER TENTHBeginning of the Refokm of the Feiaes.Change of Names. Life in Dueuelo. Visit

OF St. Teresa. Monasteey of Pasteana.Feiaes Remove Feom Dueuelo to Manzeea.

The house of Duruelo was to be the cradle ofthe reformed Carmel. While Fra Juan wasmaking it ready, Fra Antonio Heredia paid avisit to St. Teresa in Valladolid. He gave tothe saint an account of his preparations for thenew life in Carmel, at which St. Teresa wasgreatly amused. In his zeal for punctuality, hehad collected five hour-glassesnothing else(Foundations, XVI-2). Fra Antonio awaitedthe arrival of the provincial at the house inMedina, where he was prior. At last the pro-vincial came and in his presence Fra Antonioresigned his office and renounced the mitiga-tions of the rule.Taking with him one of the brothers, Fra

Jose, not yet ordained priest, Fra Antonioreached Duruelo on the eve of the first Sundayin Advent, November 27, 1568. Fra Juan gladlywelcomed them. 'The little community of threefriars passed the night in fervent prayer.When the morning came, Fra Antonio and FraJohn said Mass, and the three friars on theirknees before the most holy sacrament, weep-


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS B3ing tears of joy, renewed the solemn vows oftheir profession, and renounced the mitigationsof the rule sanctioned by Eugenius IV. Theypromised our Lord and his most blessed mother,the most holy Mary of Mount Carmel, to placethemselves under the primitive rule of St. Al-bert, as corrected by Innocent IV, and to liveit in its integrity until death. Then, followingthe custom introduced by our holy mother St.Teresa among the sisters, they changed theirfamily names, to avoid every reminiscence ofworldly honors. The choir-brother, Fra Joseph,became Joseph of Christ; Antonio Heredia, An-tonio of Jesus ; and Juan of St. Mathias, Johnof the Cross ; the three of them made one ChristJesus Crucified.Soon afterwards, the provincial came to Du-

ruelo, and made Fra Antonio prior, Fra Johnof the Cross superior and master of novices,and Fra Joseph of Christ porter and sacristan.Later on Fra Joseph of Christ fell away andreturned to the old observance, but the twofriars whom St. Teresa had chosen remained inDuruelo. In this way the reform was legallyand peacefully begun, with the consent of thegeneral of the order, and the co-operation ofthe provincial, Fra Alonso. In the records ofthe monastery the foundation is described asfollows

**In the year one thousand five hundred andsixty-eight, the twenty-eighth day of November,


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54 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Sthis monastery of our Lady of Mount Carmelwas founded in this place ; in which monasterythe primitive rule in its vigor, as delivered untous by our first fathers, began to be observed, bythe help of the Holy Ghost ; the Father DoctorFra Alonso Gonzalez being provincial of theprovince; the brothers Fra Antonio of Jesus,Fra John of the Cross and Fra Joseph ofChrist, by the grace of God, began to liveaccording to the rule in its strictness. Thehouse and place were given to us by the owner,the noble Lord Don Eafael Mejia Velasquez;the most illustrious Lord Don Alonso de Men-doza, bishop of Avila, consenting to the foun-dation of the house.''

'This was the beginning of the reform of thefriars, and it must never be forgotten thatneither St. Teresa nor the friars of the reformever complained of any laxity in the housesthey left. The reform was not a reform ofmanners, but simply a restoration of the oldenrule which in times past the sovereign pontiffhad mitigated, but had never suppressed. Thegeneral of the order and the provincials inSpain never imagined at the time that the re-form was to be regarded as a personal censureupon them and their brethren. It was lawfuland perfect to live either under the primitiverule of St. Albert or under the rule mitigatedby Eugenius IV. The intention of St. Teresa


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 55was not to condemn the latter, but to restore theformer under the same father-general of theorder, and the same provincials throughoutSpain.The two fathers began to order their lives

according to the primitive rule and to make forthemselves certain constitutions based on theobservances which St. John of the Cross hadseen practiced by St. Teresa and her daughtersin Valladolid, which are substantially the sameas now embodied in the constitutions of thediscalced Carmelite fathers of today.The cell of St. John of the Cross in the new

monastery was one of the corners at the endof the garret, having a little straw for his bedand a stone for his pillow. He assisted atmatins at midnight, and after that he remainedin prayer till morning. He was so absorbedthat he did not feel the snow which filteredthrough the crevices of the tiles and coveredhim, as St. Teresa tells us in her book of theFoundations.Though St. John of the Cross loved his cell,

he was sent by his prior to preach in the coun-try round. He had to go far away from themonastery, travelling always on foot. Theywore no sandals in those days. His feet werebare, even in the depth of winter, and he walkedover ground hardened by frost and coveredwith snow. As soon as his work was over, he


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56 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Scame back to his cell, without a morsel of foodand his cell was hardly more comfortable thanthe rough roads with stones and briers hiddenin the snow, over which he had been travelling.As no one in the little community could be

spared as his companion in these journeys ofcharity, he called from Medina del Campo hisbrother Francis to be his companion on theroads. One day, after preaching in a parishchurch, St. John came down from the pulpitand left the church with his brother. Thepriest continued the mass, and when it wasover, having learned that the preacher had de-parted for his convent, sent his servant to over-take him, and beg him to return and dine withhim. The servant overtook St. John and de-livered his message ; but the preacher made hisexcuses and hastened to his monastery. Hisbrother remonstrated with him, and said thatit was an uncourteous treatment of the parishpriest. St. John answered that he was doingthe work of God, and did not wish to receivepayment from man. When they came to a wellby the wayside, St. John sat down and dividedwith his brother a little bread he had takeafrom the convent, and both dined on bread andwater that day.

St. Teresa visited Duruelo in the year 1569.She found Fra Antonio sweeping at the doorof the church. He was a grave and portly friar,


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 57nearly sixty years of age, and had been fortyyears in the order.^^What has become of yonr dignityT' St.

Teresa asked him.He answered, paraphrasing the words of the

prophet, ^'Cursed be the day wherein I hadany'' (Jer. XX-14).

St. Teresa was amazed by the poverty of theplace and edified by the devotion of the friarsand their faithful observance of the rule. Butshe was alarmed at their penances and aus-terities, which she regarded as excessive. Shefeared they might endanger the lives of those towhom she had entrusted the reform. She there-fore spoke seriously on the subject to the friars,^^who,'' she says, ^^ having gifts I had not, madelight of my advice.'' She gave thanks to theLord, and in her humility confessed their waysto be safe (Foundations, XIV-2).Such mortification and humility could notremain hidden. The people who dwelt round

about came to the church and filled the two con-fessionals which were there; not poor peopleonly, but the great noblemen of the neighbor-hood came to Duruelo, and entrusted their con-sciences to the friars, whose austere lives werea wonder to all. Among those who frequentedthe monastery was Don Luis de Toledo, a rela-tive of the great Duke of Alva.


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58 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'STwo young men of exceptional talents ap-plied for the habit of the reformed Carmel, and

were received with great joy by the holy found-ers, Fra Antonio and St. John of the Cross.Our holy father, St. John, to whom God hadcommunicated the fullness of the spirit of Car-mel, began now to instruct his novices, not onlyby his heavenly doctrine, but specially by theexample of his holy life. God had gifted himwith such mastery, discretion and capacity thathe filled his order with contemplative angels;and what he did for his own order by word ofmouth and example, he has done for all sinceby his writings.His uninterrupted sense of the presence of

God, manifested in his exterior composure, hishumble silence, his placid cheerfulness, hiscourteous and affable charity, earned for himthe esteem of all. His novices especially hadsuch a veneration and respect for him, that theleast indications of his preferences were tothem most sacred and weighty commands.


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CHAPTER ELEVENTH /The Monasteky at Pastrana. Teaxslation of

THE Community From Duruelo to Man-ZERA. Novitiate oe Manzera. St. John ofTHE Cross Sqesjio Pastrana. College ofAlcala de Henares.

While Don Luis de Toledo was trying to in-duce the little community of Duruelo to leavethe place and establish themselves in Manzera,where he had just built a new church, St. Teresafound means to establish another monastery offriars in Pastrana. She had secured, indeed,permission from the general of the order tofound two monasteries of friars. Era Antoniowent to Pastrana, in July, 1569, leaving thehouse of Duruelo under the care of St. John ofthe Cross. St. Teresa was at this time found-ing the sixth convent of her nuns in Pastrana;she sent to Medina for Isabel of St. Jerome,and she requested the prior of the Carmelitesthere to send one of the fathers with her. 'Theprior sent Era Baltasar of Jesus, who had agreat desire to quit the mitigation for the re-form, but the prior knew nothing of it. On hisarrival. Era Baltasar immediately told St. Te-resa his intention. She was glad because he wasa zealous friar and a great preacher, famous inthe order.


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60 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'STwo hermits of Tardon, in the Sierra Mo-

rena, had come to Pastrana to take the hahit ofonr Lady of Mount Carmel ; they had been wonto the order by St. Teresa in Madrid. Thepostulants were eager to enter, and they beggedSt. Teresa to give them the habit. As FraPedro Muriel, the delegate of the provincial,was then in Pastrana, the matter was arranged.St. Teresa with her own hands gave the habitto the hermits, Mariano and Juan de la Miseria.Fra Baltasar preached a most moving sermon,and being already a Carmelite, made the changefor himself. A few days later Fra Antonio ar-rived, and having now three friars under hisjurisdiction, took formal possession of the mon-astery. He remained there about four months,training them in the discipline of Carmel. Onhis departure for Duruelo, he left Fra Baltasarof Jesus as his vicar, to govern the house.The following year, 1570, the translation of

the monastery of Duruelo to Manzera tookplace. Fra Antonio begged the provincial tohonor the removal with his presence. Accord-ingly Fra Alonso not only came himself, butbrought with him other friars, and all went inprocession from Duruelo to Manzera. Theprovincial sang the mass, and Fra Antoniopreached. St. John of the Cross took with himthe two novices. One of them was Fra Pedroof the Angels, who rose to great sanctity, and


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 61died in Valladolid in 1613 ; the other, Fra JuanBautista, was made perfect in a short time anddied in the monastery of La Roda in 1577.Soon after our holy father St. John of the

Cross and his companions came to Manzera, thefame of their holy life was spread through allthe country, and at this news, many young menrepaired to the new monastery and begged tobe admitted into the novitiate. All were excel-lent vocations, and some of them highly learnedmen.Among the latter was a doctor from the Uni-

versity of Salamanca, a great lawyer, and anable man; he begged to be received among thepoor friars of Manzera, where his learningwould not be held in great reverence, and wherehe found a master of novices who possessed alearning far more profitable than he had taughtin the universities. One day, for the sake ofsaying something, or because the old Adam gotthe upper hand, the doctor from Salamanca ob-served that the library of the house was poorlyfurnished with certain books. The master ofnovices heard the remark, and ordered the cellof the doctor to be cleared of all books what-ever, and then gave him a child's first book, orprimer, and with the book he gave him a littlerod, such as school-masters use in pointing outletters to young children. The learned doctorwas to learn the letters like a child, as if he had


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62 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Snever been to school before. He did as lie wastold, and gave an account of bis progress to themaster of novices from day to day with tears ofcompunction and great humility of heart. Hepersevered in the order, was greatly respected,and eventually became provincial.While Manzera prospered under the safe

guidance of St. John of the Cross, Pastranawas in danger ; and therefore, Fra Antonio, theprior of Manzera and superior also of Pastrana,determined to send thither his sub-prior andmaster of novices. Accordingly, in October,1570, St. John of the Cross went to Pastrana toinstruct the novices there; and Fra Pedro Fer-nandez, the apostolic visitor, made him vicar ofthe house in the absence of its prior. He tookwith him from Manzera Fra Peter of the An-gels, whose prudent conduct and exemplary lifewould be of great service in the new house. Thetwo friars travelled on foot, begging theirbread. At night they rested in the poorestplaces, and when they found no house poorenough for their lodging, they slept on straw inbarns and outhouses, carefully shunning allease and comfort, keeping in mind his life ofpain and travail who had no place to rest hishead.

In the novitiate were fourteen men, four ofwhom were already professed. All were fer-vent, and given to great mortifications ; but they


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OF SAINT JOHN OP THE CROSS 63needed instruction, and some of them neededrestraining, because they were inclined to ex-cesses of penance unfitted for their state of life.Some of them had been friars of the mitigation,and others had left the world for the new Car-mel ; but there was no one in the house who hadbeen trained under the first novice-master ofthe reform.

St. John of the Cross explained to them theintent and meaning of their vocation, the natureand requirements of the rule, the spirit hiddenunder its letter, and the great importance ofthe observances which were the several path-ways, guards, and fences of the order and oftheir vocation. So persuasive was his language,and so winning his ways, that no one heard himunmoved. The little Carmel of Pastrana flour-ished, and was made a most fruitful vineyardof the Lord, by his holy life and heavenlydoctrine.

In July of this year, 1570, and before St.John went to Pastrana, when St. Teresa waspresent at the profession of the two friarswhom she had won in Madrid, it was resolvedthat a college should be founded for the orderat Alcala de Henares, for the instruction of thefriars. St. Teresa had leave to found only twoconvents, and these were already in existence.Application was therefore made to the apostolicvisitor, who readily gave his consent, and with


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64 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Sthe help of the duke of Pastrana, the princeEuy Gomez, the college was built. It was in-augurated on the feast of All Saints by FraBaltasar of Jesus, prior of Pastrana, who be-gan thenceforth to preach in the city. Hispreaching was so powerful and attractive thatthe whole university crowded to hear him.In the year 1571 the college of our Lady ofCarmel passed into the hands of the novice-

master, who had formed and fashioned Duruelo,Manzera and Pastrana. Although it was thehouse of studies it was subjected to the sametraining which had been estabhshed in the otherhouses. The example and teaching of St. Johnwere not in vain. The students of the college,passing to and fro to the lectures of the uni-versity, calm, recollected, with downcast eyes,attracted the observation of the city, and wonits respect. Eegular discipline, fasting, watch-ing and other mortifications humbled the prideof life, and made the understanding captiveunder the dominion of faith. St. John of theCross, with unflagging watchfulness, encour-aged them in their studies, setting devotion andpiety on a higher level than learning. From hisexample and precept originated the saving stillhonored in the colleges of the order, ^^Eeligiousand studious, but religious above all.''While the college in Alcala was growing, the

novitiate at Pastrana fell into disorder again.Fra Angel of Gabriel, newly-made priest, full


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 65of zeal, fervent and mortified, but not giftedwith the discretion required in a master ofnovices, begun to make changes and disturb theorder of the house. Fra Antonio of Jesus andother grave fathers consulted together andagreed that there was but one help for it, tosend the first novice-master of Carmel there atonce. They felt that his work in Alcala wasdone and well done. The college was sound andhealthy. But even if he had not finished hiswork there, they must send him to Pastrana,because that was now the novitiate of the order.It was therefore of the highest importance tobring it again to its former state. St. John ofthe Cross left Alcala for Pastrana to undo thework of the entire year, and to bring back intothe true pathways of the new Carmel the wholemonastery; for the professed fathers also hadbeen led astray. The saint arrived in Pastranaat the beginning of the year 1572, and began hiswork gently and tenderly. In the first place heput an end to the public humiliations and thesingular penances which were practiced in thehouse. He restored the monastery to the spiritof the rule and observance of those constitu-tions which he and Fra Antonio had agreedupon in the beginning when they were togetherin Duruelo. He showed the novices that theirspirit was peculiar, and that they were not toadopt the practices even of the greatest saints,if they were not suited to their vocation. Their


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66 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUPFERlNa'Schief work was prayer and meditation, * * dwell-ing alone in tlie forest, in the midst of Carmel, ' \away from the noise of men, bent on keepingthe rule. Each order in Holy Church has itspeculiar work and spirit; and confusion alone,and ruin of vocations, result from the disor-derly impulse which leads one man to do thework of another.


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CHAPTER TWELFTHSt. Tekesa Calls St. John of the Ckoss to

AviLA. Eefokmation of the Monastery.His Trances.

While St. John of the Cross was in Alcala deHenares, St. Teresa was sent by the apostolicvisitor, Era Pedro Hernandez of the order ofSt. Dominic, to Avila as prioress of the monas-tery of the Incarnation. Notwithstanding theopposition of the nuns, constrained by her vowof obedience the saint entered and took posses-sion of the office of prioress in October, 1571,and, winning by degrees the affection of the dis-contented nuns, brought the monastery to astate of regularity and fervor. Meanwhile St.John of the Cross had returned from Alcala toPastrana, and had reformed that monastery,restoring it to the true pathways of the new,Carmel. St. Teresa, in order to do her workmore surely and leave durable traces of herpresence in the convent of the Incarnation,where she had received the habit of Carmel andmade her profession, and where she had en-joyed most wonderful visions and revelations,asked the visitor for St. John of the Cross asconfessor of the monastery. The visitor as-sented gladly, and the saint came without delay,bringing with him another friar, German of St.


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68 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'SMathias, as Ms companion. The visitor lodgedthem in a small honse close to the monasteryof the Incarnation where they could live inpeace. This was in the spring of 1572.The great sanctity of St. John of the Cross,

hitherto known to few, began to be spoken ofoutside the order. The nuns of the Incarnationgave him their confidence without reserve andin obedience to him changed the order of theirlives.

St. Teresa had put an end to the great dis-tractions which were the result of too manyvisits to the monastery by seculars, and St.John of the Cross made the work perfect bystopping, directly and indirectly, confessions ofthe nuns to priests who were without the cour-age and will to correct the laxity resulting fromfrequent resort to the parlors. St. John dealtwith the nuns gently and tenderly, but with con-stant firmness, and the community under thegovernment of St. Teresa, though not keepingthe rule which the prioress and the two con-fessors observed, became most observant andrecollected, as we can see by a letter of St.Teresa to her sister Dona Juana, written 27September, 1572, in which the saint says, * ^ Thebarefooted friar who is confessor here is doinggreat things. He is Fra John of the Cross."God promoted the work by giving to the saintmany supernatural gifts; among others, the


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OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS 69gift of miracles. Soon after he came to theIncarnation, one of the nnns, Dona Maria deYera, fell into a sudden and dangerous illness,and before her danger was suspected by thenuns, became insensible. They sent for St.John of the Cross to administer the last sacra-ments. But before he entered the monasterythe nun was dead, to the extreme grief of hersisters, one of whom, in the bitterness of hersorrow, reproached the saint as if he were tobe blamed, saying, "Is this the way you takecare of your children? This one has died with-out confession.^'The holy man made no answer, but turnedback and went straight to the church, where

before the most holy sacrament he poured outhis soul, begging humbly for help. After a con-siderable time the nuns sent him word sayingthat the sister was restored to life. Whereuponhe left the church and on the way met the nunwho had spoken to him before."My child," he asked, "are you satisfied?"He then went to the infirmary, heard the con-

fession of the nun who had been restored to life,and gave her the last sacraments. When thesaint had done for her all that could be done,God took her to himself.St. John was kind to these poor nuns in everyway, and they were much to be pitied, for themonastery was very large and very poor. The


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^0 PRAYERS, WORKS AND SUFFERING'Snuns were more than a hundred in number andoften in distress, wanting both food and rai-ment. One day, seeing a nun in a habit utterlyunsuited to her, St. John went out and beggedenough to supply her with another, for themonastery was too poor to do so. In many wayshe thus manifested his compassion for theirmaterial distress.

St. Teresa tells us how, in 1573, St. John ofthe Cross mortified her in the very act of givingher holy communion. St. Teresa liked to re-ceive large hosts, and had said so to St. John ofthe Cross. But h

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Saint John of the Cross - Paschasius of Our Lady of Mt Carmel (1919)