Product Description

St John of the Cross was a 16th century Spanish mystic who wanted to reform Catholicism and encourage the integration of meditative practices by its followers. Because of this, he was locked up by other monks and during his imprisonment he wrote one of the world's most famous spiritual poems Dark Night of the Soul. After his escape, he then wrote a commentary to the poem to explain how to deal with any period when one feels completely cut off from God, and totally uninspired by anything. This is the first time the poem and its commentary have been translated by anyone outside the Catholic Church, and the language is exceptionally contemporary and relevant to our everyday concerns, no matter whether the reader is a Catholic, Buddhist or Muslim - or just having a hard time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #304355 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-06
• Original language: Spanish
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Andrew Harvey
‘Mirabai Starr’s admirably modernized translation restores to us a classic in all its unflinching candour’

Thomas Moore
‘A fluid, inviting translation of this important text’

Natalie Goldberg
‘What a beautiful translation!’

Customer Reviews

A life review guide
This book answersed all of the questions i had, in terms of my own spiritual journey. It explains why the dark days are so awful and why the light days are so in abundance with joy. Having read many spiritual guidance books, in religeons across the board, i found this to be the definative guide to understanding my own true existence.
God has to make us endure pain, desolation and deep emotion in order for us to appreciate and fully understand the path we are on. If we had only 'positive' days we would not endlessley search for spiritual fulfillment. This journey is fully explained in this book and its a reflective tool that we can use daily to enchance our understanding of a spiritual journey.
The soul is illuminated by positive experiences, the serenity felt lulls the soul into feeling comfortable. however, each stage of the journey brings a deeper, and more desolate emotion. Through this book, you learn to battle through this, and achieve a sense of calm that enables you to proceed to the next stage.
Its a book that i am able to read again and again, each time gaining a deeper understanding of my own spiritual journey. Well worth a read!.

This is a book you'll want to read twice.
The first time I attempted this book it was beyond me. After I had experienced a great tragedy in my life, however, I was more in tune with what St. John was talking about. Sometimes God must remove all of our props to get us to love Him, rather than the goodies He can give us. This may even include having to undergo a purging of the senses, and long periods of depression. My prayer to God for a long time has been, "Lord, whatever it takes, make me a man of God". Sometimes I have a hard time dealing with the "whatever it takes" part, but it's well worth it. Find a quiet place alone and read this book.

Amazingly accurate!
When I first started to read this book I got lost. I then skipped a few pages at the start and the rest was much easier. The more I read of the book, the more I realised how accurate it was - the problems listed in the book were the problems I was facing in my spiritual life. I had thought that I was on my own but this book gave me great comfort to see that what I was going through was so similar to the problems others had as well.

It gave me the chance to open my heart to God and see how to carry on.