It’s common to encounter the quote from the scholastic philosophers that “grace builds on nature,” or “grace perfects nature.” Encountering a correct understanding of this adage is less common. In order to accept the teaching of St. John of the Cross regarding the passive nights of the senses and the spirit, we need to understand …
Remember the analogy from previous posts of prayer as a race? A runner who does not know where the finish line lies is unlikely to win the race. Similarly, a Christian who does not understand the goal of prayer is not likely to attain it. Prayer is meant to draw us into an intimate communion …
What is the relationship between knowledge and contemplation? How much should we concern ourselves with news events? How can we trust God when bad things happen? I have been meditating on all these questions and more lately, and would like to share my musings with you. Growing in knowledge Centering Prayer advocates such as Fr. …
For the Feast of St. John of the Cross, I’d like to look at a common error in counterfeit contemplation such as Centering Prayer. New Age theologies do not see any separation between God and the soul. In fact, to many New Agers, God and the soul are the same thing. This error pops up in …
It’s been a long time since I wrote about St. John of the Cross. The main reason for that is it takes so much time to delve into his writings, understand them myself, then relay them in a way I think my readers will understand. But today we’re going to revisit St. John briefly. Let’s …
I’d like to return to pondering the spirituality of St. John of the Cross, looking at the themes found in The Ascent of Mt. Carmel and Dark Night of the Soul. Let’s begin considering detachment. What does John mean by detachment? I see two common errors concerning detachment. The first views detachment as nearly impossible …