SSF230 – St. John of the Cross and Our Journey into the Mystery of God

This course will explore the writings of St. John of the Cross as a guide in our own interior life and journey into the mystery of the Triune God. We will take the Spiritual Canticle as the best entry point and way into the heart of John’s spirituality. Some texts from the Ascent of Mount Carmel, the Dark Night of the Soul, and the Living Flame of Love will be integrated in the way set out in this Canticle of Love. Spiritual Canticle, commentary on stanza 1 will be the centerpiece of the course. It will be seen as a kind of basic blueprint for the edifice of John’s spiritual thought. We will also draw from some secondary sources to help us understand his teaching. Finally, students will be encouraged to conclude each meditative reading of these texts with a stanza of his poems, which still pulsate with John’s own heartbeat and prayer, and so provide an opening for our own prayer.