153ࠗ༡ᒣ⚄Ꮫ࠘40 ྕ㸦2017 ᖺ 3 ᭶㸧pp. 153-176.

St. John of the Cross’ teaching on Contemplation
Tibur HELI
Contemplation is an important aspect of our prayer and spiritual life. In thisstate, our prayer becomes more affective and more passive because God takes
over the prayer. Here we will also be transformed into a new person and will beable to experience peace and love totally and completely. Therefore, without thegrace of contemplation we will never make progress in virtue and the spiritual
life, or we will never entirely escape from our weaknesses and imperfections.
Considering the importance of contemplation, the purpose of this study is to
examine the teaching of St. John of the Cross on contemplation. For John,
contemplation means “infused contemplation.” This description seems very
abstract, but according to Kieran Kavanaugh, “What John means by infused
contemplation is that the loving knowledge is communicated directly to thespirit, without particular images and ideas as means. Without this palpablemeans, contemplation comes divested of the particular and is therefore a general,or obscure, loving knowledge. It is God’s life, his self-communication; in us it is
the theological virtues” 1, that is, faith, hope and love or charity. Is his teachingsimilar with the other spiritual masters or different? And what is the goal of
spiritual life according to John of the Cross? Before answering such questions, it

1

Kieran Kavanaugh, John of the Cross: Doctor of Light and Love (New York: A Crossroad Book,
1999), 114. Cf. James Arraj, From St. John of the Cross to Us: The Story of a 400 Year Long
Misunderstanding and What It Means For The Future of Christian Mysticism (Inner GrowthBooks, 1999), 13.

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is helpful to begin with a brief review of the mystical tradition that influenced
John of the Cross.

1.

Influences on John’s teaching on Contemplation

Reflecting on the mystical tradition that influenced John’s writings, Crisogono
argues that “the problem of mysticism began to preoccupy [him].” 2 It was a
problem because although John was aware of and had read the tradition of thespiritual and mystical writings, it is difficult to identify the works he read apartfrom the Bible.

John only refers to the mystical tradition in general as in what

is said by “philosophers,” “theologians,” “mystical theologians,” and “wisemen”. 3 However, Jose de Jesus Maria, who got his information from John’s
fellow-students, mentioned the special study he made of mystical writers, “inparticular of St. Denis and St. Gregory.” 4 According to this account, John wasinterested in the exact determination of the nature of contemplation, newdoctrines that were acquiring ascendency – probably ideas of the illuminist
type. 5 All these gave him the impression of being a deviation from the true

Crisógono de Jesús Sacramentado, The Life of St. John of the Cross (New York: Harper,1958),
38.
3 Thomas Myladil, St.John of the Cross and The Bhagavad-Gita: Love, union, and Renunciation(Cross Cultural Publications, Inc. Cross Roads Books, 2000), 76. Myladil also points out that
according to Concordancias de los Escritos de San de la Cruz, there are 24 references to“philosophers,” 13 to “theologians,” one to “mystical theologians,” and several to “wiseman.”
4 Crisogono, 38.
5 Illuminism is “a single native heretical movement-the movement of the alumbrados, of men
and women ‘illuminated’ by the Holy Spirit.” This movement “was accused of claimingthat those who surrendered themselves to the love of God had no need of the ceremonies
or sacraments of the Church, that they should desist from all activity, being cleansed of sin
in their union with the Deity.” For more information see Alastair Hamilton, Heresy andMysticism Sixteenth Century Spain: The Alumbrados (Cambridge, Clark, 1992).
2

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spiritual teaching of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church and so he examined
and compared them.
However, even though John of the Cross himself never gave any reference tothe mystical tradition, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene has pointed outthat “John owed too much to his predecessors, even though his own
contribution was to be so outstanding as one day to win him the title of a Doctorof the Church.” 6 This is true because the careful readers of John of the Cross
will find that he “articulated much of his thought using the terminology of thescholastic theology of sixteenth-century Catholic Spain, his vision of thespiritual life transcends Christian scholasticism and reflects several religious
and philosophical traditions.” 7
In this respect, we can broadly identify and examine the main tradition that
influenced John of the Cross in his teaching. According to Thomas Myladil,“[John]’s philosophical and theological ideas generally display the influence of
St. Thomas Aquinas and the Scholastics (e.g., transformation in God throughbeatific vision, the development of theological virtues, actual and habitualgrace).” 8 His teachings on apophatism, mystical darkness, and the soul as theimage of divinization echo the influence of St. Augustine, Neoplatonism andPseudo-Dionysius. Also, in his teaching on the three signs of the soul’s entry into
the mystical state, or degrees of love, he shows his acquaintance the works of
the German and Flemish mystics, i.e., Ruysbroeck (1293-1381), Tauler (12901361), Suso (1300-1366), and Denis the Carthusian (1402-1472). Among thesefigures, Tauler and Denis the Carthusian are the more visible in the works ofGabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, The Spiritual Director: According to the Principle of St. John of
the Cross, trans. by a Benedictine of the Stanbrook Abbey, 1951), 38; Also see A Benedictineof the Stanbrook Abbey, Medieval Mystical Tradition and Saint John of the Cross, (Westminster,
Maryland: The Newman Press, 1954), 13-14; Thomas Myladil, 75.
7 Thomas Myladil, Ibid.
8 Ibid.
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John of the Cross. The author of Medieval Mystical Tradition and Saint John of the
Cross points out this fact in the following paragraph:Though this is an exaggeration, it is impossible to study the works of writers
such as Tauler and Denis the Carthusian, in particular, without discovering
how both, especially the former, anticipate St. John of the Cross. When the
day came when his teaching had to be defended, these northern mystics
were cited, as well as the order authorities…in proof of that he [St. John of
the Cross] was quite in the sound and orthodox tradition. 9

In fact, the Institution of Tauler with its emphasis on renunciation, which Johnof the Cross seems to have used, teaches that “the soul must never lose sight of
the Passion and must aim at utter detachment both from creatures and fromsensible devotion, and become ‘dead and annihilated to all that is not God.” 10
Besides renunciation, there are other aspects in Tauler which are similar to John’steaching such as the treatment of mortal and venial sin. He discusses, forexample, “how the secret of sanctity is that the human will should become one
with the divine will.”John of the Cross also makes use of themes and even the language of theearlier Spanish mystics; for instance, Bernardino de Laredo’s work The Ascent ofMount Zion, may have suggested to John the title of The Ascent of Mount Carmel.
His approach to the path of recollection may show his use of Francisco de Osuna.
Moreover, the sensual imagery of his poems echoes the impact on him of the
Spanish poetry in his time, especially the works of Garcilasco de la Vega andJuan Boscan. Finally, there are also the influences of “ the teaching of the Moslem

9
10

A Benedictine of the Stanbrook Abbey, 101; Also see Thomas Myladil, 79.
Ibid, 103.

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mystics or sufis, who flourished there [in Spain] in the Middle Ages.” 11 Of
course, their influence on John of the Cross makes sense because “in all cities
and villages that were the scenes of the life of St. John of the Cross -- Arevalo,
Salamanca, Granada, Alca, Segovia, Avila, and Toledo -- the statistics of theseventeenth century reveal that even then there existed many nuclei of Moriscos(Moors).” 12
It is clear that although John of the Cross did not specify any authors andsources in his writings, he was indebted to the accumulated traditions. In thisrespect, the author of Medieval Mystical Tradition and Saint John of the Cross firmly
places John in the main-stream of mystical tradition:

He [John of the Cross] is at once original and traditional, and certain figuresof speech and expressions had long become the common property of all
spiritual theologians. We find the same language century after century; all
the later writers draw upon the earlier authorities, and as says his most able
modern editor [P. Silverio de Santa Teresa]: ‘We have not read St. John of
the Cross long before we find ourselves in full current of mysticaltradition. 13

In John’s time, there was not the same concern with accurate texts andscholarship as there is today. Moreover, he did not write for academics, but for
the needs of the Carmelite nuns and friars, or special people who requested him
to write. As we have seen, John of the Cross often quoted, sometimes frommemory, from the medieval compilations of the mystical traditions that he read
Stephen Clissold, The Wisdom of the Spanish Mystics, (A New Directions Book, 1977), 3; Also
see Robert Richmond Ellis, San Juan de la Cruz: Mysticism and Sartrean Existentialism (NewYork: Peter Lang, 1992), 120.
12 Thomas Myladil, 79.
13 A Benedictine of the Stanbrook Abbey, 23; Also see Thomas Myladil, 76.
11

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and made his own. Quoting Colin P. Thomson, George Every puts it this way,
“Certainly his is a borrowed language, but he has made it his own, because hecontrols the images and redirects their tremendous power into the channels heprepared for them.” 14
However, it is important to notice here that John of the Cross not only learned
from other traditions and borrowed their language. He also took from his own
experience, drawning both from his contact with others involved in spiritual
direction and from his own interior life. Emphasizing the influence of othertraditions on John’s teaching, and also his dependence on his own experience,
Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) wrote as follows: “We would say that
speculative theology provided the principles, the spiritual authors gave theterminology and a vast area of comparative study, but the writings of St. John of
the Cross are the fruit of experience. It was a vital experience of the supernatural
reality that is communicated to the soul, a dynamic experience of participationin the intimate life of the Blessed Trinity, and finally, an experience of theunifying power of that which serves as a ‘means of union’ with God.” 15 In otherwords, John only used the principles and terminology from other traditions inorder to better articulate his own profound spiritual and mystical experience.
Finally, as indicated earlier, in his writings and even throughout his life as afriar, the practice of reading Scripture in a liturgical and devotional context
formed and shaped John. George Every captured this when he said that “forJohn the spiritual sense of Scripture can be apprehended only by a person who
is inspired by the Spirit, a person who is open to receiving in contemplation theknowledge that comes through love.” 16George Every, “John of the Cross and the Traditions of Monastic Exsegesis,” in From
Ignatius Loyola to John of the Cross, ed. Terence O’Reilly (Variorum, 1995), 115.
15 Karol Wojtyla, Faith According to Saint John of the Cross , trans. Jordan Aumann, O.P (SanFransisco: Ignatius Press, 1981), 21-22.
16 Ibid, 110.
14

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2.

The Signs of the Beginning of Contemplation

As we begin to reflect on John’s description of the beginning of contemplation,
first of all we must clarify his mystical teaching on the dark night as the actual
beginning of infused contemplation or mystical experience. John describes the
beginning of contemplation especially in Books I and II of the Dark Night. Likeother spiritual writers, John of the Cross explains contemplation as being
integral to prayer. His focus is on the transition from meditation or discursive
mental prayer to more affective prayer, and then to more passive prayer inwhich God takes over the one who is praying in contemplation. The process of
this transition will cause dryness and aridity. This is a dark night. But how does
the soul know whether this dryness is the result of the dark night or some otherillness? In order to help the soul to discern this question, John of the Cross gives
three signs, and according to Constance Fitzgerald, “traditionally, [these threesigns] have been recognized as theological signs of the passage in prayer fromdiscursive meditation to contemplation and are, therefore, descriptive of one’s
spiritual development, one’s interpersonal life.” 17John gives the three signs both in the second book of Ascent of Mount Carmel(A, 2, 13, 2-4) 18 and in the first book of the Dark Night (DN 9, 2-8). Interestingly,
in both works, John not only treats the similarity between the signs, but also

Constance FitzGerald, “Impasse and Dark Night,” in Women’s Spirituality: Resources for
Christian Development, ed. Joan Wolski Conn (Mahwah NJ: Paulist, 1986), 293.
18 All quotations from St. John of the Cross are taken from The Collected Works of St. John of
the Cross, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez, rev. ed. (Washington, D.C.: ICS
Publications, 1991). The abbreviations for St. John’s writings cited in this paper are: A =The Ascent of Mount Carmel; DN = The Dark Night; C = The Spiritual Canticle; F = The Living
Flame of Love. For The Ascent and Night, the references are given to book, chapter, andparagraph. Thus, A,2,13,2-4. indicates The Ascent of Mount Carmel book 2, chapter 13,
paragraph 2-4. The Spiritual Canticle and The Living Flame of Love are referred to by stanza
and paragraph. Thus, C.20.15 is to the 20th stanza of the Spiritual Canticle, paragraph 15.
17

160emphasizes the significant differences between them. As Marc Foley has pointed
out, “in the Ascent, John underlines the soul’s desire ‘to remain alone in loving
awareness of God without particular consideration, in interior peace and quiet
and repose…’ (A.2.13.4)” 19, but in Dark Night, the simple awareness of God’spresence is not found there. “One of the common explanations for thisdifference”, says Foley, “is that in the Ascent, John describes a soul that has
become accustomed to contemplation; whereas, in the Dark Night John describes
a person in whom this simple awareness of God’s presence is new.” 20 Or again:“the Ascent signs are given from the side of the person’s faith response, the Dark
Night signs from God’s side”, but basically, they are the same and can becorrelated. 21
The first sign describes the fact that one cannot make discursive meditation orreceive satisfaction from it as one did before. This is dryness because now God
does not communicate himself through the senses, “but begins to communicate
himself through pure spirit by an act of simple contemplation in which there isno discursive succession of thought.” 22 However, even though the soul cannot
make discursive meditation or mental prayer and draw satisfaction from it, John
advises not to abandon this method immediately. Why? Because there is a time
when the meditation must be discontinued, that is, the time when the soul isplaced “in interior peace and quiet” in the third sign.
The second sign is “an awareness of a disinclination to fix imagination orsense faculties on other particular objects, exterior or interior” and therefore it
will bring “emptiness in life experiences and deadness of desire.” This dryness
is not only in prayer, but also in our life, relationships, marriage, ministry, andJohn of the Cross – The Ascent to Joy: Selected Spiritual Writings (New City Press, 2002), 79.
Ibid, 80.
21 Constance FitzGerald, 293.
22 DN, 1, 9, 8.
19
20

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so on. John puts it this way: “Souls do not get satisfaction or consolation fromthings of God [and] they do not get any out of creatures either. Since God putsa soul in this dark night in order to dry up and purge its sensory appetite, hedoes not allow it to find sweetness or delight in anything.” 23
The third sign is more important because in this situation “a person likes toremain alone in loving awareness of God, without particular considerations, ininterior peace and quiet and repose, and without the acts and exercises (at least
discursive, those in which one progresses from point to point) of intellect,memory and will. Such a one prefers to remain only in general, loving
awareness and knowledge we mentioned, without any particular knowledge
and understanding.” 24 Compared with the two first signs, this sign is morepositive because in this new way the soul wants to remain alone in loving
awareness of God. When the soul experiences an interior peace, quiet and repose,
this is the beginning of contemplation.

3.

Contemplation

As indicated earlier, John of the Cross described contemplation as “infused
contemplation,” but it is difficult to find an adequate description and none of
the attempts to delineate what infused contemplation is will ever excel theworks of the Mystical Doctor. This is because John’s teaching on contemplation
is “so imbued with the reality of what communing with God means that no
concise definition can completely capture his experience and reflect his thinking.
We can, however, help ourselves along by systematizing the various elementsthat make up infused prayer as we find them flowing effortlessly from the saint’s

23
24

DN, 1, 9, 2.
A, 2, 13,1-4; Also see Kieran Kavanaugh, 107.

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pen.” 25 Only reading and rereading the works of the saint can help us to grasp
infused contemplation.
First of all, John of the Cross gives a general description of the beginnings ofinfused contemplation in the following paragraph:

Actually, at the beginning of this state the loving knowledge is almost
unnoticeable. There are two reasons for this: First, the loving knowledge
initially is likely to be extremely subtle and delicate, almost imperceptible;
second, a person who is habituated to the exercise of meditation, which iswholly sensible, hardly perceives or feels this new insensible, purely
spiritual experience. 26

This description underlines the very threshold of contemplation as a peacethat cannot be analyzed or described. It is “unnoticeable,” a “calm and repose
of interior peace.” The peace, quiet and repose here envisioned is not what we
can sometimes achieve by our own effort, but “it is a new experience, one thatis due to no oriental techniques or occidental methods. At the beginning it isdelicate and hardly perceptible, even though it is real. One is being led into aperceived contact with God indwelling.” 27
Furthermore, in The Ascent of Mount Carmel and The Dark Night, John explains
infused contemplation as wisdom. 28

Infused contemplation is “secret andloving wisdom…[and] this contemplation prepares the soul for union with God
Thomas Dubay, Fire Within: St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and the Gospel- on Prayer(San Fransisco: Ignatius, 1989), 60.
26 A, 2, 13, 7; Also see Kieran Kavanaugh, 118; James W. Kinn, “The Central Paradox of Johnof the Cross,” Review For Religious 68, no.3 (2009): 290.
27 Thomas Dubay, 61.
28 Cf. Daniel Chowning, Lecture on “John of the Cross: A Spirituality of Wisdom,” at theAnnual Seminar on Carmelite Spirituality, in Saint Mary College Notre Dame Indiana,
June 15, 2009.
25

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through love.” 29 “It calls this dark contemplation ‘secret’ since, as we mentioned,
contemplation is mystical theology, which theologians call secret wisdom andwhich St. Thomas says is communicated and infused into the soul through love.
This communication is secret and dark to the work of intellect and the otherfaculties.” 30 “The wisdom of this contemplation is the language of God to thesoul, of pure spirit to pure spirit.” 31John refers to contemplation as “secret wisdom,” “wisdom of love,” “interior
wisdom,” “mystical wisdom,” and the “abyss of wisdom.”is a “secret ladder.” 32

Infused wisdom

Reflecting on this “secret ladder,” Edith Stein notes that“principally, contemplation is called a ladder because it ‘is a science of love, aninfused loving knowledge of God, that both illuminates and inflames the soulwith love, elevating her step by step to God, her creator.” 33 Further, Edith
explicitly distinguishes and summarizes John’s description of ten rungs of theladder that elevate the soul to God as follows:

The first rung makes the soul sick, for her good…But this sickness is notunto death, rather for the glory of God; the second rung causes a person toseek God unceasingly; the third rung of the ladder of love prompts the soulto action and awakens her to fervor so that she does not tire; the fourth rungcauses in the soul a persisting suffering for the sake of the Beloved; the sixth
rung causes the soul to hurry quickly toward God and she frequently
perceives his nearness by the senses; the seventh rung, the soul is extremely
emboldened; the soul attains the eighth rung which gives her

possession

DN, 2, 5,1.
DN, 2, 17, 2.
31 DN, 2, 17, 4.
32 Daniel Chowning, Lecture on “John of the Cross: A Spirituality of Wisdom.”
33 Edith Stein, The Science of the Cross, trans. Joesephine Koeppel (Washington D.C: ICS
Publications, Institute of Carmelite Studies, 2002), 143.
29
30

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of the Beloved and union with him; the ninth rung …is …the state of those
who are perfect, who already burn in the sweet love of God; and the tenthand the last rung of hidden ladder of love no longer belongs to this life. “Itmakes the soul perfectly like God because of the vision of God.” 34

For John, however, contemplation is not only a ladder but is also “secret.” It
is “secret” for two main reasons. First of all, it is beyond what we can grasp by
our senses or by any clear image or idea. Secondly, it is an ineffable experience;
it is difficult to give it expression. It is a wisdom that is communicated directly
to the spirit.

Divine Wisdom is a path of unknowing. 35

God’s wisdom is “loving wisdom.”“the heart of the science of love.”

John says that God’s wisdom leads us to36

Wisdom and Love are inseparable.

Wisdom leads to love and love leads to the deepest Wisdom. Moreover, in thestate of infused contemplation, love of God also becomes stronger and deeper.
This is a new loving of God, a love that comes from the experience of being loved
by God. The typical expressions used by John for this new love are “this divine,
loving fire of contemplation…this burning of love…the fire and wound of thisforceful love…this very fire of love”, etc. “The infusion from God grows to apoint that the person is ‘dying with love of Him.’” 37 Probably for those whohave not experienced advanced prayer, all these expressions are very hard tounderstand. But for mystics or spiritual persons, that is the best way to express
their experience of God’s presence in the soul.
It is also important to notice that “the contemplation of which St. John is34

Ibid, 143-145.

35

DN,2,17,2.

DN, 2, 17, 6; Also see Thomas Dubay, 63.
37 Thomas Dubay, 61.
36

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speaking is not a completely infused prayer, but rather the mingling of a certain
infused light with the simplified activity of the soul, which is the natural resultof meditation.” 38 In other words, even though infused contemplation is acompletely free gift from God, we need to prepare ourselves to receive this gift
through the practice of a discursive meditation in prayer. Further, John of the
Cross not only speaks of the infusion of divine light, but also of infused love.
The saint, then, defined contemplation as “nothing else than a secret andpeaceful and loving inflow of God, which, if not hampered, fires the soul in thespirit of Love.” 39 This element of contemplation is very important because it
helps us to understand better how contemplation leads us to the transformationof love or the perfection of passive love. Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdaleneaffirms this when he writes: “Contemplation awakens love, introduces it
passively into the soul; and this passive love will grow so strong that at last it
will bring it perfect transformation.” 40 At this point, “we are entering fully upon
the realm of infused love which is to end in the passive union of the spiritualmarriage. Yes, the passion of love ‘has in it something of the most perfect unionwith God.’” 41 In short, if contemplation strengthens our love, the passion of love
becomes more unitive, that is, the perfect union with the Triune God.
Finally, the language or expressions John uses for contemplation are alsointeresting. As James Arraj points it out, “in the Ascent he calls contemplation: ageneral and pure act, interior quiet, loving knowledge, general knowledge, or
general loving knowledge, supernatural knowledge of contemplation, general

Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, St. John of the Cross: Doctor of Divine Love andContemplation, trans. A Benedictine of Stranbrook Abbey (The New Man, 1946), 53.
39 Ibid; DN, 1, 10, 6; Cf. Thomas Dubay, 63; Also see John Welch, An Introduction to John of the
Cross: When God’s Die (Mahwah JN: Paulist, 1990), 97.
40 Ibid, 60.
41 Ibid.
38

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loving advertence, attention and general loving knowledge.” 42 Yet, in his otherworks John uses different language and expressions. For example, “in the Dark
Night contemplation becomes: obscure and dry contemplation, interior
refreshment, a loving calm advertence, infused contemplation, obscure andsecret contemplation, and a sweet, peaceful, loving infusion of God.” 43 And in
The Living Flame of Love, John describes contemplation as: “loving knowledge,
wisdom and loving knowledge, simple and loving knowledge, loving
advertence, passive loving advertence, recollection and interior solitude,
infused love, silence, quietude, and emptiness and solitude.” 44 Clearly, John of
the Cross uses a wide variety of expressions with reference to contemplationthat make his teaching more profound and rich.
It is also important to notice here that before explaining the contemplation inprose, the mystical Doctor and poet had already experienced contemplation as
something he called, “entering into unknowing.” Listen to the Saint’s verses:

I entered into unknowing,
Yet when I saw myself there,
without knowing where I was,I understood great things;
I will not say what I felt
for I remained in unknowing
transcending all knowledge. 45

Contemplation is like entering into unknowing, into the oceanic love of God

James Arraj, 27.
Ibid.
44 Ibid, 28.
45 Stanzas concerning an ecstasy experienced in high contemplation, 1.
42
43

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without knowing where we are, but just staying in peace and joy in the love of
God.

4.

An Excursus on St. Teresa of Avila 46

It should be noticed here that John’s description of contemplation as “infused
contemplation” had influenced many spiritual writers. Inspired by John of the
Cross, for example, J. de Guibert, S.J, defined infused contemplation as “acontemplative prayer in which simplification of the intellectual and affective
acts in the soul results from a Divine action which surpasses, or even sometimes,
contradicts that which would be produced by the simple causes of a
psychological order when they are at work.” 47 Besides de Guibert, there are
Garrigou- Lagrance, Saudreau, Poulain, de La Taille, Arintero, 48 (to mention
only few) also influenced by John. Even though each of those spiritual writers
has his or her own point of view, all of them agree with John of the Cross on thethree essential characteristics of infused contemplation: 1) in contemplation we
have some vague experience of God as present within us; 2) this direct contact
is general and dark in the beginning; it is not accompanied by images or distinct
notions, but consists of a simple and dark intuition; 3) we receive the experiencepassively, not as a result of our own efforts. We cannot obtain it, retain it, or
recall it. 49 It is completely grace or a gift from God.
In particular, the infused contemplation that John of the Cross is talking about
is similar to St. Teresa of Avila’s doctrine. James Arraj argues that “[St. Teresa]

Ibid, 28-31.
Eiten, Robert B., “Recent Theological Opinion on Infused Contemplation,” TheologicalStudies 2, no.1 (Fall 1941): 90.
48 Ibid, 89.
49 Ibid; Also see James W. Kinn, “Beginning Contemplation according to John of the Cross,”
Review For Religious 66, no.2 (2007): 177.
46
47

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naturally has her own distinct point of view, but in essence their doctrines oncontemplation are identical.” 50

In describing the prayer of quiet, Teresa writes:“This quietude and recollection is something that is clearly felt throughsatisfaction and peace bestowed on the soul, along with great contentment andcalm and a very gentle delight in the faculties (L,15,1,139).” 51 Teresa continues,“This prayer, then, is a little spark of the Lord’s true love which He begins toenkindle in the soul; and He desires that the soul grow in the understanding ofwhat this love accompanied by delight is. For anyone who has experience, it is
impossible not to understand soon that this little spark cannot be acquired.” 52
Further, Teresa also advises that “what the soul must do during these times ofquiet amounts to no more than proceeding gently and noiselessly. What I callnoise is running about with the intellect looking for many words and reflections
so as to give thanks for this gift and piling up one’s sins and faults in order to
see that the gift is unmerited.” 53
Moreover, in her works of The Way of Perfection and Interior Castle, Teresa
develops two kinds of prayers of recollection that can precede this prayer ofquiet. These two kinds of prayers are “active recollection” and “passive” or“supernatural recollection.” Describing the prayer of active recollection, Teresa
writes: “It is called recollection because the soul collects all the faculties together
and enters within itself to be with its God. Its Divine Master comes more

James Arraj, 28.
All quotations from St. Teresa of Avila are taken from The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila
Vol.3, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodrigos (Washington, D.C.: ICS Publication,
Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1985), and The Way of Perfection, edited and mildly
modernized by Henry L. Carrigan Jr. (Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2000). The
abbreviations for St. Teresa of Avila’s writings cited in this paper are: L= The Book of Her Life;
W= The Way of Perfection; and IC= Interior Castle. The references are given to book, chapter,and paragraph. Thus, L, 15, 1, 139, indicates The Book of Her Life, book 15, chapter 1,paragraph 139.
52 L, 15,4, 141.
53 L, 15, 6, 141-142.
50
51

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speedily to teach it and grant it the Prayer of Quiet. Hidden there within itself,
it can think about the Passion and picture the Son without tiring the mind bygoing to seek Him on Calvary, or in the Garden, or on the Cross.” 54
In contrast to this active recollection, Teresa describes the passive recollection
as follows:

It is a recollection that seems to me to be supernatural because it does not
involve being in the dark or closing the eyes, nor does it consist in any
exterior thing, since without first wanting to do so, one does close one’s eyesand desire solitude. It seems that without any contrivance the edifice isbeing built, by means of this recollection, for the prayer that was mentioned.
The senses and exterior things seem to be losing their hold because the soulis recovering what it had lost. 55

Furthermore, Teresa explains this supernatural recollection “like a good
Shepherd, with a whistle so gentle that even [the souls] themselves almost failto hear it, He makes them recognize His voice.” Since God is within us andalways calls the soul to hear His voice, “a preparation for being able to listen”,
says Teresa, “[is] the soul instead of striving to engage in discourse strives toremain attentive and aware of what the Lord is working in it.” 56 Teresa
continues to affirm that “when through His secret paths it seems we understandthat He hears us, then, it is good to be silent, since He has allowed us to remain
near Him.” 57 Again, all these descriptions indicate that even though Teresa uses

W, 28, 121-122.
IC, 4, 3, 1, 77.
56 IC, 4, 3, 2.4, 78-79.
57 IC, 4, 5, 79-80.
54
55

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different expressions, the essence of her teaching on contemplation is similar
and identical with that of John of the Cross.
In addition, the similarity between John and Teresa is also found in theirdescription on Mystical Knowing and the Mystical Self. Edward Howells
summarizes this similarity between the two Carmelite saints’ doctrines in five
points as follows:

1. The soul is divided by the onset of mystical union between the interior
part and the exterior part because of the special nature of union with God
as a relationship “without intermediary,” in contrast to the soul’s
ordinary exterior relations to creatures.
2. The relationship between the interior of the soul and God in union is a
Trinitarian relation, not merely in the created image of God in the soul,but immediately, as the soul enters the inner life of the Trinity and isformed habitually within the Father-Son relation.
3. The soul, while remaining human, becomes “divine” in the interior
relation,…In the spiritual marriage, the soul finds that it has not only
become divine, but that it has been humanly accommodated to union
through the process of transformation, such that it participates in the
inner-trinitarian relation in the center of the soul and attains the humandivine self understanding of Christ.
4. The interior and the exterior parts of the soul retain their distinction, but
the immediate relation to God in the center of the soul now overflows to
include the whole soul and body in union, producing exterior works inperfect accordance with God’s will.
5. The process of mystical transformation is seen in retrospect to possess aunity deeper than division in the soul, so that mystical knowing and171
ordinary knowing are combined in a unified subject, culminating in the
habitual possession of mystical self. 58

Besides these similarities, Howells also points out some important differences
betweenTeresa’s

andJohn’saccounts

ofMysticalKnowledge

andtransformation. According to Howells, “the most prominent difference between[their] accounts of mystical knowledge and transformation…is that John’s
theology is more negative than Teresa’s.” 59 Even though both of them accepted“the negative psychological effects caused by the entry into union, such assuspensions and the feeling of the division in the soul, …John alone makes this
into a programmatic process of sensory and spiritual negation and suffering in
the dark nights.” 60 Following Dionysius, John explained his negativity and thethree stages of spiritual journey – that is purgation, illumination, and union. In
particular, John refers to Dionysius’ idea that “illumination is to see God not as
a light but rather as a ‘ray of darkness.’” Also, in the stage of illumination, thepurgation or purification is not decreasing but rather increasing and in “contact
with the rational faculties, ‘voiding’ and ‘darkening’ them.”
It should be noticed here that even though John refers to Dionysius, it does
not mean that he is a “thorough-going Dionysian.” In fact, John only applies thenegativity of Dionysius’ rational faculties in the middle, “midnight”, stage ofmystical itinerary, but when the soul arrives at the “early dawn”, the “ray of
darkness” or “dark illumination” ceases to be dark as light gradually enters it.
In this view, John joins Teresa in thinking that “the soul is expanded byillumination such that it becomes equal to the infinite greatness of God in its
Edward Howells, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila: Mystical Knowing Selfhood. (New York:The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2002), 119-120. For more detail explanation about allthese similarities see pp.120-128.
59 Ibid, 129.
60 Ibid.
58

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own infinite capacity, and at this point it starts to know God positively inunion.” 61 Therefore, the differences between John and Teresa are found in theirapproach to union and in the early stages of the union, before the light of union
starts to shine. In the progress to union, John always emphasizes the feeling ofGod’s absence that causes suffering, torment, and terror. Teresa on the other
hand, stresses the presence of God because for her even in the early stage ofunion, the soul has already recognized God’s presence.
Another difference between John and Teresa is based on their treatment ofsupernatural apprehensions. For John, these supernatural apprehensions cannot
be known reliably before the final union because of the darkness in the rational
faculties. Teresa on the other hand, emphasizes that the supernatural
apprehensions are part of union as soon as they begin. In the early stage the two
Carmelite saints differ in approach, but at the final stage of union they join
together. As Howells puts it, “in final union, the humanity of Christ is foundwithin the soul in the same way for both Carmelites, in the soul’s innertrinitarian knowing which is mediated to every part of the soul.” 62This is a but a very brief explanation of the similarities and the differences
between John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila in their account of mysticalknowing and transformation. We return the John’s teaching and explore thestages of the spiritual journey and the transformative union with God.

5.

The Stages of the Spiritual Journey

According to John of the Cross, the goal of spiritual life is union with God. Inorder to reach this union, the soul has to pass through the journey of faith andthe journey of love. Following the mystical tradition, John of the Cross divides
61
62

Ibid, 130.
Ibid, 137.

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the three stages of prayer into beginners/purgative, progressives/illuminative,
and perfect contemplatives or perfect union. 63 The first stage is the beginners.
Here John describes the beginners as those who practice active meditation byusing fantasy and imagination. John writes: “the practice of beginners is to
meditate and make acts and discursive reflection with imagination.” 64
However, the beginners sometimes spend much time in prayer and their prayer
is discursive, a “work through images, forms and figures.” 65 The quality of thisprayer has not yet reached the depth for which his teachings are intended.
With this in mind, John advises beginners not to abandon prayer too soon, “sothat there is no ‘volver atras’ or regression.” 66 Discursive meditations are very
important for the beginners because it helps them to dispose themselves formore spiritual interests. “By these sensitive means beginners dispose their spirit
and habituate it to spiritual things, and at the same time they void their sensesof all other base, temporal, secular, and natural forms and images.” 67 Johnemphasizes the importance of meditation or mental prayer for the beginners,
but he spends little time describing it because he assumes that his readersalready know it. He called the first stage as the active night of the sense in which
the beginners cultivated a detachment from physical or worldly things.
The second stage is the proficient -- the illuminative way. After the soulexperienced the active night of the sense, now it enjoys the degree of
illumination, receiving many insights, intuitions and even visions or prophecies
about religious matters. John of the Cross names this way the active night of theIbid, 138-146; Cf. Marilyn May Mallory, 14-16; See also Leonard Doohan, The Contemporary
Challenge of St. John of the Cross: An Introduction to His life and Teaching, 63-79; Peter Feldmeier,
The developing Christian: Spiritual Growth through the Life Cycle (Mahweh NJ: Paulist Press, 2007),
77-80.
64 F,3,32.
65 A,2,13,1.
66 Ibid.
67 Ibid.
63

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spirit because in this night the soul must empty the self, or lose oneself, in faith,
hope and love. “The individual of this ‘proficient’ stage is beyond prayer, readilyfinds God in profound recollection and initial contemplation, and sometimes iscalled to the prayer of quiet. Such persons know their lives have changed; filledwith confidence, love of God and love of sacrifice, they also show an increased
service of others.” 68  In this stage, the person does not need to practice
meditation or mental prayer as such, but begins practicing contemplation andalso begins to experience the presence of God who dwells in the soul.
All this leads to the passive night of the spirit in which “God purges andilluminates the soul most radically” and “the soul is engaged in contemplation
to a high degree.” If in the active night of the spirit the soul strives to purify thespiritual faculties-intellect, memory and the will, now in the passive night of thespirit God takes over in order to purify the soul from the world, the flesh andthe devil. John describes this in the second book of the Dark Night of the Soul.
At the end of this night the soul comes to experience the dark fire of God’s love
as a thing of delight.
The third stage is the perfect contemplative or perfect union. In this stage, thesoul is united to the Beloved in a ‘spiritual betrothal’ and then in a ‘spiritualmarriage’. According to John of the Cross, the union experienced at the end of
the journey is a supernatural transforming union that “exists when God’s will
and the soul’s are in conformity, so that nothing in the one is repugnant to theother.” 69 This union is found only when there is a likeness of love that John calls“the union of likeness.” Moreover, this likeness is attained through thepurification of the nights, that is, the intellect, memory, will, appetites, and all
movements of the person are united with God. John writes: “accordingly, theintellect of this soul is God’s intellect; its will is God’s will; its memory is the
68
69

Leonard Doohan, 71.
A,2,5,3.

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eternal memory of God and its delight is God’s delight…[It] has become God
through participation in God.” 70 Finally, all this leads us to focus our whole life
on God and in conformity with all God wills, culminates in a union so profoundthat John calls it “spiritual marriage,” “a total transformation in the Beloved.” 71
In this “spiritual marriage,” the soul finds a much greater abundance andfullness of God, a more secure and stable peace, and an incomparably more
perfect delight…As a result the soul usually experiences an intimate spiritualembrace, which is a veritable embrace, by means of which she is lives the life ofGod. The words of St. Paul are verified in this soul: I live, now not I, but Christ
lives in me[Gal.2:20] 72

Conclusion

St. John of the Cross‘ teaching on contemplation draws from tradition and his
own experience. John begins with describing the three signs as the beginning ofcontemplation. Those three basic signs are loss of pleasures, inability to meditate
discursively, and the painful longing for God. After passing through these threesigns, the soul begins to enter into contemplation. For John, as for other spiritual
writers, contemplation is infused contemplation with three essential
characteristics: 1) in contemplation we have some vague experience of God aspresent within us; 2) this direct contact is general and dark in the beginning; it
is not accompanied by images or distinct notions, but consists of a simple anddark intuition; 3) we receive the experience passively, not as a result of our own
efforts. We cannot obtain it, retain it, or recall it. It is completely a grace or a giftfrom God. John’s teaching on contemplation as infused contemplation is similar

F,2,34.
C, 27,3.
72 C, 27,5.
70
71

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to St. Teresa of Avila’s doctrine. While the two Carmelite saints differ in their
distinct points of view, in essence their teaching on contemplation is identical.
According to St. John of the Cross, the goal of our spiritual life is transformative
union with God through love. Following the spiritual tradition, John describes
the journey of our spiritual life in three stages such as first the beginners, second
the proficient or the illuminative way, and lastly the perfect contemplative or
perfect union.