THE DESCRIPTION OF SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS
The Doctor of the Church and Mystical Doctor Who is the Patron of Contemplative Life
Feast Day: December 14
"Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
John of the Cross, who is the co-founder of the reformed Carmelites (Discalced Carmelites), was born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez in Fontiveros, Ávila, Crown of Castile (Spain), on June 24, 1542.
At the age of 21, he entered the Carmelites at Medina, taking the religious name of John of St. Matthias. He frequently asked God, that he might not pass one day of his life without suffering something. After his ordination in 1567, he was granted permission to follow the original rule of Rule of Saint Albert, which stressed strict discipline and solitude. In 1568, together with St. Teresa of Ávila (Teresa of Jesus), he opened the first monastery of the newly reformed Discalced (barefoot) Carmelites, whose members were committed to a perfect spirit of solitude, humility and mortification.
On the night of December 2, 1577, John's monastic reform fomented the anger of some old Carmelites, who accused him of rebellion and had him arrested. It was in prison that he began to compose some of his finest works, like the 'Cántico Espiritual (The Spiritual Canticle)' and 'The Living Flame of Love'.
In 'The Dark Night of the Soul (La Noche Oscura del Alma)', John wrote: 'It is impossible to reach the riches and wisdom of God, except by first entering many sufferings.'
One time, John corrected a certain Fr. Diego who used to disregard the rule. This wicked religious, rather than repent, went about over the whole province trumping up accusations against the saint. Thus, John was transferred to a remote friary at Úbeda, Kingdom of Jaén, Crown of Castile, where he died due to erysipelas (a bacterial skin infection) at the age of 49.
John of the Cross is canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on the feast of St. John the Apostle on December 27, 1726 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1926 by Pope Pius XI after the definitive consultation of Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P., professor of philosophy and theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome. His major shrine can be found in Segovia.
