Saint John Of The Cross Essays - Doctors Of The Church, Free Essays

Saint John Of The Cross Essays - Doctors Of The Church, Free Essays Saint John Of The Cross Saint John of the Cross - I abandoned and forgot myself, laying my face on my Beloved; all things ceased; I went out from myself, leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies. John of the Cross is one of the acknowledged masters of mystical theology. It is thought among present day theologians that there is no other writer who has had a greater influence on Catholic spirituality than John of the Cross. He is a canonized saint of the Catholic Church and was made a Doctor of the Church because of his extreme influence on present day doctrine. His dedication as a leader in service is surpassed only by his deep faith in the workings of the Trinity through Jesus on earth as a model and the Holy Spirit as our guide to a life of spirituality. John of the Cross was born Juan de Yepes in 1542 to a poor family of Spanish nobility. When John was a boy, he attended a school for poor children, gaining a basic education, and the opportunity to learn skills from local craftsmen. When he was 17, John began to work at the Plague Hospital de la Concepcion, and its founder offered to let him attend the Jesuit College, so long as he did not neglect his hospital duties. From 1559 to 1563, John studied with the Jesuits, learning Latin, Greek, and other subjects. He was offered the chance to study for the secular priesthood, which would have given him material security, but he felt God was calling him to Religious life. At age 20, he entered the Carmelite Order, being clothed with the habit on February 24, 1563, and taking the name Juan de Santo Matia (John of Saint Matthias). He was ordained in 1567, and said his first Mass in Medina del Campo. During that trip, he first met Teresa of Avila, and she encouraged him to promote her reform among the men's Order. John spent much of his time working for the reformation of the Carmelite Order and in the overall service of others. However, there were said problems with his ideas of reform from certain members of his Order. On the night of December 2, 1577, a group of Carmelites, lay people, and men-at-arms broke into Johns quarters, seized him, and took him away. The men led John away, handcuffed, and blindfolded, to a monastery in Toledo. John stood accused of being rebellious and as an overall threat to the Order. John would have to submit to the demands of the Order, or undergo severe punishment. Nonetheless, John refused to renounce the reform in which he so truly had faith. John was locked up in the monastery prison because of his strong convictions toward reform. He was placed in a windowless dark room of six by ten feet, with little light, and with little air. This hole of a cell was exposed to the terribly cold winter months and the suffocating heat of the summer months. This, aside for the beatings, the filth, the forced fasting, and the lice, made it an unfavorable situation for anyone. However, John did not see the situation as the rest of humanity would see it. John found the situation to be a blessing because he was able to remove all of his earthly needs and desires, and find the true place where God was hidden. God brought John his greatest joys in those times of pain and suffering. In a sense, the oppressors whom imprisoned John, gave him what he truly wanted. God. In time, John was able to escape the prison cell in which he was held by physically unscrewing the bolts on his door. Thought to be achieved miraculously by some, John was able to creep past the guards, climb down the wall, and regain his freedom. From the time of his escape until the time of his death, John devoted his life to the sharing and explaining of his experience of the Lords grace and love. Saint John of the Cross, in the darkness of your worst moments, when you were alone and persecuted, you found God. Help me to have faith that God is there especially in the times when God seems absent