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The Wisdom of John of the Cross

John was under five feet tall, thin from his sacrifice and imprisonment, and oval faced with a little growth of beard and mustache. He wore the rough brown habit of the reform, a coarse white mantle, and sometimes a dark brown skull-cap. Contemporaries said that, although clearly ascetical, he had a pleasing appearance and was interesting to talk to. He was always in control of himself; peaceful, calm, and quietly joyful. He was simple, straightforward, and shunned outward manifestations of authority. Those who knew him said he was polite and delicate in dealing with others, and could share both their manual work and their recreation. He loved the beauty of nature, and deep friendships (such as that of Teresa or his brother Francisco) were important to him. He was a compassionate person, particularly sensitive to the poor, sick, and suffering. Above all, John was a giant in the spiritual life, drawing teachings of universal value from experience, both his own and others. 19

We have glanced over John's biography, and found that his early life already showed traces of values that were to make up the general direction of his future. He could see, in the example of his parents, what it means to sacrifice all for the sake of true love. The poverty of his family showed him that mere accumulation of things does not guarantee love and happiness. However, the pain and struggles that came with the poverty made John sensitive to deprivation in others and always ready to alleviate it where he could. His family fostered piety, and John treasured such attitudes throughout his life, especially devotion to Mary. Compassionate charity, learned especially in his hospital service, became a permanent feature of his concern for others. At considerable personal sacrifice, John always integrated study into his life, from the early years in Medina de Campo right up to his last years in Andalusia. Deep love for God and others was the special quality that permeated John's whole life, as it did his messa ge. Poverty, charity, piety, study, and deep love formed permanent parts of John's life.

John was a man of destiny. From his early life, when friends have all kinds of plans for him, he has a clear picture of what he wants from life. He has a sense of vocation personally called by God. He works in the hospital, is successful, enjoys the work, but knows there is more to life than generous, successful ministry. He goes to the Jesuit school in Medina, thoroughly enjoys study, values it all his life, but recognizes that for him there is more to life than education. Entering the Order of Mount Carmel, attracted by its spirit of contemplation and Marian piety, he has a happy novitiate and learns to encounter God in new ways. But this experience, too, great as it is, does not satisfy John's yearning for God. He then goes to Salamanca for theology, a chance to study about God, but no amount of study alone leads him to union with God. He decides to join the Carthusians, but Teresa encourages him to seek the deeper contemplative union he wants in her renewed Carmel. By the age of 25, John has learned that ministry, education, religious life, and theology do not automatically insure union with God. Even reforming an institution to facilitate the life one seeks is no guarantee. John senses an irresistible attraction to God and pursues this goal uncompromisingly and relentlessly. What he has he values but, without despising previous experiences, he leaves them aside to continue the search in new ways.

Some people accumulate many small manifestations of love for God; others make a single-minded, single-hearted choice for love of God, and see everything as secondary to the quest for God's love. Accumulated love rarely implies renunciation; choice-oriented love always does. The seeker renounces all that up to the present was viewed as the best means available, renounces without despising previous means, moves forward to the goal of life. Choice-love is creative of one's personality, as is evident in John, who seeks God even through the nights, journeying to the union he longs for. Accumulated small expressions of love never substitute for choice- oriented love, even though they may help to manifest and maintain it. Choice-oriented love is the clearest indicator of ongoing conversion, while accumulated love can still be shown by someone who refuses to face the need for a new conversion (as we have seen in post-Vatican II times when some "renew" themselves in superficial ways without accepting the Council's cal l for deeper change).

John integrates all the best values from his experience in one great thrust of self-dedication to God. His goal is always clear, never neglected or watered down; he pursues it with the united effort of all his strength and talents. His is not a selfish goal of personal growth, for he takes others along with him, sharing the vision and the love by which he feels drawn.

John shows us how to live in a struggle-filled post-conciliar church, since John himself entered Carmel the year the Council of Trent concluded its deliberations. He learned to cope with people who resist the renewal he wanted, with ecclesiastical authorities interested in the power that religion brings, with the spite of some, the envy of others, and dishonest slander of still others. Through all his struggles, he maintains right priorities and proves that contemplative union is possible under any circumstances. A man of wisdom, he has journeyed to the mountaintop and can guide us too. 20

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