14 December Feast
With all that the Eucharist is for a Catholic Christian, does John of the Cross have a Eucharistic spirituality? His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament or the Mass is not immediately evident. But, if in fact the Eucharist holds central importance for him, why is this obscure in his writings?
Well, there is evidence of his Eucharistic spirituality in some of the testimonies given by those who knew him during the canonical processes for his beatification and canonization. There are approximately thirty published works addressing John’s Eucharistic spirituality. Interestingly two-thirds of these (19 out of 27) focus exclusively on John poem La Fonte: Que bien sé yo la fonte que mana y corre.
John of the Cross focuses on the interior life in his writings. His exposition of spiritual, passive purification and his illumination of Christian mysticism eventually earned him the accolade “Mystical Doctor.” John devoted most of his writings discussing the interior life. A combination of factors contributed to a kind of breakthrough in the ability to understand and articulate the psychological, interior experience of being united to God, above all, in love.
His audience may also be a reason John’s works contain a small number of Eucharistic passages. His letters and “Sayings” were given to his closest friends. The Canticle and The Living Flame were written “at the request” of two women very close to him. He concludes the prologues of The Ascent explaining he is addressing “only some of the persons of our holy Order of the Primitive Observance.” His poems are written for himself and his Beloved. The people he wrote to went to Mass daily and received Communion frequently. So, the Eucharist was one point upon which John’s readers did not need extended instruction.
The fact that John of the Cross held the Eucharist in great esteem colors, it seems, his doctrine of “nada,” and adds a new consideration in the debate about the kind of purgation John recommends. The documentation associated with the Church’s declaration of John as “Mystical Doctor” is focused on his four treatises—explanations of his poems—and almost none of John’s poetry. Systematically looking at John’s poetry will, perhaps, modify the frequent perception of his theology as narrow and of limited value and application.
Seventy-eight primary sources offered approximately one hundred seventy-five different testimonies, and twenty-six different passages from John’s works declaring that John of the Cross has a Eucharistic spirituality. It can be stated with confidence and irrefutable certainty, and in John’s own words: the Mystical Doctor found his Eternal Bridegroom “within this living bread.”
Edizioni Carmelitane is proud to offer a new book on John of the Cross’ Eucharistic Theology:
Dr. John D. Love’s Within This Living Bread: Exploring the Eucharistic Spirituality of St. John of the Cross. Dr. Love is a professor at Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland (USA) since 2008. He received his doctorate from the Angelicum in Rome.
This book costs 22 euros and can be purchased at https://edizionicarmelitane.org/. To place your order, send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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