Max Huot de Longchamp

rmaissance, elle laisse la volonte sans force, alors que l' oraison do it
ner principalement a l'embraser en amour de Dieu et a l'unir
Pour resumer cette matiere, le meme saint avertit le contemplatif
: pour que la contemplation soit utile et que 1' entendement re\(oive
comme en un miroir divin !'image de Dieu,. il faut qu'il le re-
de tres pres. En effet, si ce que I' on place devant un miroir
1 est represente avec d'.autant mains de tessemblance que la dis-
st grande, et avec. une ressemblance d'autant plus pleine et
1e la distance .est petite, il en. va de IIieme pour ce qui est
11te dans l'entendementi comprenant non pas une distance locale ni
mtite materielk quand il s'agit de la representation de Dieu, mais
;tance d' aptitude et une quantite virtu ell e. Et a ce propos, saint
mentionne ce que dit saint Denys, a savoir que. les realites pro-
Dieu sont d'autant plus illuminees et divinisees, qu'elles partici-
: plus pres a sa communication et a sa force.

)Cffjl
Teresa rev1s1ons humility:
a matter of justice
VILMA 5EELAUS, O.C.D.
C
ONTEMPORARY TIIINKING hardly connects humility with justice.
Justice has our attention while humility is categorized with
past unhealthy spiritual practices. Teresa of Avila, our guide irt
this study of humility, dearly demonstrates the significance of
humility for us. Teresa discovered the many layers of humility's
meaning. Jtistice issues from a heart grounded in humility.
Justice has a broad understanding. It gives to another what.
is due. In the Hebrew Scriptures, justice is a style of action in
a relation of. fellowship partners. The relationship be-
tween the justice required of one another and the justice of God
is vital (Dt 33:21). Justice is riot an attribute of God, rather God
opens up a cosmic sphere of power in which the just are in-
cluded. Justice is the sphere of salvation bestowed by God. In
fact, believers become the justice of God in Christ (2 Cor S:21r
Further, justice is attained through faith. We do not belong to
ourselves but to God. Justice is giving God what is God's due.
God is creator whose love binds the human family in solidarity.
A duty of justice, therefore, is to work . for the common good.
The cultivation of justice means. giving what is due nationally
and internationally as well as in our personal lives. The scriptures
show this taking place within the cosmic sphere of power which
includes the just. For us as human, the cosmic sphere of power
is life as we know it on our planet earth.
The human experience is one of ambivalence. We move from
joy to sorrow, from delight to pain. We feel the urge toward
transcendence, yet the limits of human finitude encapsule us. The
inconstancy of the human condition has been transformed by the
life, death arid resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the gift of
the Spirit, the Christian invitation is to walk in Christ's footprints
as his body through time and history. Justice now takes on a
deeper meaning. No longer can we look at another person with-
out consideration of the mystery of human God-relatedness. God
envelops the entire human family in. this mystery which bonds us
338 Vilma Seelaus
more truly than ties of blood. The mystery of human-God-
relatedness connects us one to the other. 1
Increasingly today's scientists realize the interconnectedness of
all that is. The field of energy which connects matter within . the
cosmos is a paradigm of human . interconnectedness. , We actualize
justice within the sphere of human/global interconnectedness. So
giving . what is due is being in right relationship with other . per-
sons and. also with earth and its. environment. Such an under-
stan .. din.g .. ustice .... it. ":l .. th .. h .. In. on. e ... 's abilit:y ..
cu1ttvate_ JUStice.as nght_ relationships relies essentially on huti:Wity.
. , Humility is diffiCll}t to Its meanirig evadeS _us.;Humility
suggests being. unobtrusive. Its ... caricature .. is the. person who .. 'acts
like ; a ;_doonnat.-i .our . competitive,; success-oriented; societj-... is
. F$e ideas of: humility:include not
spealdng. truth ,in: order . t<t please, masking anger with: a .sx!e:
IIUSConceptions point to the importance, . of self-kp.owledge
which is iritegral to hu'mili : :- . . . - . .. :. - : :\''.- ;.
' ' Like: ;;Ur the. Iliystics; TZesi:ofAvik ;Jntf''
. it''in'
trt,le inthe'lnteri6r'Castk,themam.:foeus.ofthis ess:ay>Here we.
firid;,o'Ver .. .. ....
an' God.: self !.Q.thm:cThe}JnteiiOr
,theJull :riches

.. .. .. ... . l .. .. .. ... .. ... .........
,. -:--.... . 1 .. n .. e ; w .... pon enng ... .J', .our.:. .. was .u,w> .V;irtue .
. .; . .; of. hW;nility . and, this. thou"'l.(came to me - in my .{opinion not as

iS;; God ;.-iS":'Sripl'!!me

':'
1
..
tJiat::of-:otirselves..we: have.:nothinggoodbut.only:miserytand
i:,.:: nothingJ;J.eSS <Whoever . not understand . this ,:Wa.Ucs: in. falsehoOd.
. The. anyone understands Jt the more he pleases the
"Truth he is walking in truth. Please God; Sisters, we will
. be" gqmted the' favot neVer' to,leaye this path of
.: .:.;d:.': ::.. .,;:; : . .-,...... ,.;'''' ::c::; ;; ...;:.;
'i Our. Lord grants these favors to the s_oul. because; as to: one: t0
whom He. is truly. betrothed, :.one who is already_ del:ermined . to d,o
.... , His will in eVerything. He {iesires to give it ho:w
. to do His will 'and of His The deVil, m my opinion,
'and= Yen one's'_'own "imagination have little ea:Patity 'at this 'level,
and so the soui::is left with:profound satisfaction (6J0.7-8).-
In place . botli lriili arid
favors by, the soul. This particular grqunds
' . . ' .. . . . . . . . _- - _.. .:
1
K. BERGER and J. M. DfEZ-ALEGIUA, Justice, in Sacramentum Mundi:
An Encyclopedia of Theology, ed. Karl Rahner with Cornelius Ernst and
Kevin Smyth; 6 vols, New York 1969, III, 231-238.
Teresa revisions humility
33'
humility within the soil of Teresa's understanding of herself as
human person. She says in effect:
. .1) Of we have only misery and nothingness. We
receive our . bemg . from God, .. thus we are finite - hence fragile
and contingent. This . is. our truth.
. . 2) God is supreme Truth.' God's truth is that God desires
to' communicate with us, as demonstrateS throughout the
;:_: , ' ,. ,:_:" . . . . . . ; ' ... . . . .. . . . ......
We:aeteri:riliie: to do. God's -:Will. hi. ac)d gives
do tll!S and _God's gift
of: ..clivme lS rmportant to doing'.God's will. In this we aie
. . . . . _':;c . . . . . . < . . . " . . . . .
:.:J ::' her .wri?figs_ reftect5 the mystery of the
J>C:rsol!; m. )anguage. . . the, fruit: of _her
religiousexpenencei'She tells .us that the .soul .is like" a ciStle With
th,e "The . Lord . governs; the: Castle. and secret
.. : bef:veen;:God'> and: .. sow :-(6.3.18).: . Goo
. .. :With: uss divine . com-
. D!unication . gentle. .and ;:penetniting{ touche.S!of
love;;_: God: ":contilitiaJ.Iy dra.ws, : its -into ... the:: Jullnessf'of huina:n

Within =the_ of' h1.1i:rlail']inittidei; wet aret and
th#e(ore iriipeifect.::;"#e itot'owil ()mselves; we',arei:GOd's'!Uilidi-
. work.L we rrelate''to a GOd :we ,cannot see ;and ;whose love
isitofteri-'' ':leaves: tis: feeling :. inSecure:: and tempted to
self-doubt.-;,We.+finddt hard- to: believe c:in. op.rselve$;:andqin the
GOd/mystecy . , which defines : Teresa . understands ; .. the ;hunian
stniggleand(She,insists on :'the hann done
to understand .well. this humility and self-knowledge. _ (1.2.13). She
too<struggled :With: doubts about her true worth. Self-knowledge
means accepting .both God's' love and . our human .. limi.tations.
<Self-doubtlkeep$ a person <stuck within the limits of finitUde
and psychologically disconnected from God. On . the feeling level,
God seems Jar away and uncaring; Here the is to rely
on.-.oneself a .sense of self-worth which is not: forthcoming.
,Self:-worth evades>us because we are out. of our,:triith as God-
related.: '' :. '; "-. ,



child's Iovablerie.Ss. The mystics tell us that God ultl.niatdy .:mirrors
our worth at a depth others are unable to Christ is the
mirror who reftects Teresa to herself (Life, 40.5.10). So . fu suc-
cumbing to we do an injustice not only to ourselves but
also to God.
340
Vilma Seelaus
Thus we see that our creatureliness, the very finitude which
connects us to God, has its shadow side in self-doubt. Because of
self-doubt, we put ourselves down or we put others down. We can
hardly bear for others to be acceptable and secure in themselves
when we feel so insecure and incompetent. Consequently, giving
and receiving praise also becomes difficult. Could original sin be
our tendency not to. believe we are worth all that much? Is
self-doubt not being able to accept ourselves as mirrored in God's
image?
Self-doubt is untruth. Truth is in recognizing and accepting
our being from God's indwelling Spirit activates faith, hope
and love which opens us to receive God's self-communication. The
Spirit affirms us in the truth of our being as beloved of God. z
Human finitude, then, is only partial reality. We can respond to
God's self-communication which transcends the limits of finitude.
As an openness to God, our inner urge is toward transcendence.
The deepest longing of the heart is for pnion with God.
As finitude has its shadow side, so too does transcendence.
Teresa names it "pride and vainglory" from . which "may God
deliver you!" She offers .us examples of pride and vainglory such
as the following: simulating states of prayer, which is being car-
ried away by foolishness. and wearing down one's health, (4.3.11);
:lemariding favors from GOd in . prayer and . being unable to bear
3. little . dryness (3.1.8); .. becoming disturb.ed and afilicted when
1ll,ngs go wrong (3.2.1); having excessive_: fears regarding one's
1.eruth (3.2.8): .
. What Teresa names pride and:vainglory,in today's world are
like .the compulsive demand ... for. excellence, .the drive to-
ward perfection often ingrained in childhoOd, the need to
.-1chieve goals regardless of . consequences'
Compulsion U:Udergirds the competitiveenvironment in which
we live. . Our society places heavy demands on us to excel, to
out-do everyone else. 3 As a result, persons need to dominate so
'fhey can feel in control and on top of things. Addiction to per-
1ection is often the root cause of addiction to foOd, alcohol or
drugs.
4
z John of the Cross describes this dynamic in powerful love imagery
1
n his HSpiritual Canticle" and other poems. See The Collected Works o{
St. John of the Cross, tr. Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez, New
'ork 1964. . ... ..
3
See ANNE WILSON ScHAEF and DIANE F ASSEL, The Addictive Organi-
(2tion, San Francisco 1988. . . . . .
4
The writings of MARION WooDMAN, especially Addiction to Perfection:
fhe Still Unravished Bride, Toronto [c. 1982], deal from a Jungian per-
1J'ective with the problems of obesity and anorexia and other compul-

Teresa revisions humility 341
I once met a person who feels guilty when someone else
succeeds even in areas in which he has no interest. His inner
demand is that no one be better than himself in any area of lik
If someone else is elected president of the United States, he feels
guilty and a failure. I suspect we are all somewhere along the
continuum of such neurotic pressure. We feel guilty if someone
else succeeds. Putting forth our own best effort isn't enough.
Instead we compare ourselves with others. In doing so either we
put ourselves down out of feelings of inadequacy or we put the
other. person down so we can feel better about ourselves.
Teresa had her own experience . of put-down. In some in-
. stances she seems to be putting herself down, or she is put . down
by Frequently her confessors and advisors doubt and rid-
icule her religious experiences.
. . The need to look goOd in the eyes of others was integral to
the honor system of sixteenth-century Old Castile. This need had
even greater importance than personal integrity. We can sympa-
thize with Teresa's self-justifying comments in the face of the
denigrating gossip entertained about her. Those she considered her
friends turn away from her; "they are the ones who take . the
largest and most painful bite at her." Teresa contends with gossip
like the following: she's trying to inake out she's a saint; she goes
to extremes to deceive the world and bring others to ruin; there
ate other better Christians who don't put on all this outward
(Ai:td it's worth noting that she is not putting on any
outward show but just striving to fulfill well her state in life)
(6.1.3). No wonder Teresa found it hard at times to believe she
was worth much. How could. she when others so doubted her?
The pull of transcendence against the gravity of finitude and
sin is the human dynamic. The gravity of finitude operates as a
struggle with self-doubt. We put ourselves down out of feelings of
inadequacy, or others put us down to feel better about themselves.
At the same time, our transcendent potential divorced from God
has its own negative impulse. We demand achievement, success
and excellence of ourselves and others beyond what is reasonable.
The freedom of humility is that it is grounded in truth. We
stand in our own space, to travel our own jolirney without the
need to compare ourselves with others. Humility places us in our
center of truth. Here we are open to God who transforms us into
the fullness .of ourselves. God is supreme truth, says Teresa
When we accept God's offer of love and friendship the
truth of GOd is alive in us. Thus humility opens us to GOd who
invites us beyond the limited horizon of human finitude.
At the same time, because humility is truth, it keeps us sen-
sitized to being a creature of planet earth. We are in a process
of inner transformation, but we are not God. Fragility and im-
perfection are inevitable in the human condition. Humility enables
l42 Vilma Seelaus
as to put forth our best effort, however imperfect it might appear
ro others. To compare and compete is to be untrue to oneself.
enables growth in It puts us in
fouch with the stirring of self-doubt and "the mud of our fears,
faintheartedness and cowardice" (1.2.10). Teresa believes these
Fears are the effects of pride and of not understanding ourselves
(1.2.10). They distort self-knowledge, "and I'm not sur-
(>rised," says Teresa, "if we never get free from ourselves, .for this
ack of freedom from o.urselves, and even more, is what can be
"[S]elf knowledge will not make one base and cowardly"
1.2.11). . .
. Humility is living in the truth of ourselves as finite and fal-
lible yet as loved by God. We believe this even in the midst of
'.Jur fears. Such grounding in truth . enables self-acceptance and
;,.mconditional acceptance of others. We give eac:h other what is
due. Human liberation and the cultivation of justice is in humility.
Humility sees human greatness within the context of human fin-
. . .
The first dimension of humility, then, is the ability. to stand
in our own tnith before God. We neither doubt our value nor
expectations on ourselves to be than we can be.
, a gtven moment. As we grow; older, humibty enables us to
i:e-shape the hopes, and dreams which motivate us. -:r:he aging
l>rocess brings it own limitations. We . need not . of our
itopes . instead, we re-fashion them. to our. present real1ty.
Humility has still more to offer us. It echoes from a yet
deeper truth of. our When Christ invites Teresa into the
'.iCVenth dwelling places, humility in all its completeness opens up
!!efore her. She . experiences a profound union with Christ cruci-
,;ied .. A great desire to be . for others now invades the quiet of her
To her daughters she writes: '
. Keep in mind that I could not exaggerate the importance of
this. Fix your eyes on the Crucified and everything will become
small for you. If . His Majesty showed us His love by means of such
works and frightful torments, how is. it you want to . Hi.r:t
only with words? Do you know what It means to be truly spmtual:'
It means becoming the slaves of God. Marked with His brand,
which is thaf of the cross, spiritual persons, because now they have
given Him their liberty, can be sold by Him as slaves of everyone,
as He. was. He doesn't thereby do them any harm or grant them
a small favor. And if souls aren't determined about becoming His
slaves, let them be convinced that they are not making much
progress, for this whole building, as I have said, has humility as its
foundation. If humility is not genuinely present, for your own sake
the Lord will not construct a high building lest that building fall to
the ground. Thus Sisters, that you might build on good foundations,
strive to be the least and the slaves of all, looking at how or where
Teresa revisions humility 343
you can please and serve them. What you do in this matter you do
more for yourself than for them and lay stones so firmly that the
castle will not. fall (7.4.8).
From the center of her castle soul, Teresa discovers not her
own, but Christ's humility as its foundation. Christ showed His
love in deeds by accepting the frightful torments of His passion.
We too please God not by words but by the deed of surrender.
We give Christ our liberty and allow Christ to mark us as a slave
with His brand which is the cross.
What a frightening concept. We give our liberty to Christ and
become a slave of God. Furthermore, we strive to be the least
and slave of all. Today' s psychological sensitivity might well sense
danger. Not so, however, if we remember the perspective from
which Teresa. is writing.. Her consciousness has been radically .
transformed by Christ. Teresa knows humility is not in depen-
dence and servility.
The totality of the slave's dependence on master or mistress
is a symbol of human-God-relatedness within a long biblical tra-
dition. Psalm 123 is a vivid example of such imagery: "Behold, as
the eyes of slaves are on the hand of their master, like the eyes
of servants on the hand of their mistress, so our eyes are on you,
Yahweh, our God, till you show us your mercy." The eyes of
Israel are to be on their God and not on the beckoning entice-
ments of pagan neighbors. The prophet Elijah exemplifies fidelity
to Yahweh: "'The Lord of hosts lives, whom I serve." An alternate
translation, "The Lord God lives, in whose sight I stand," more
clearly demonstrates the position of slave to master. Literally it
means that the. master expects the slave to have his eyes con-
tinually on the master's hand. Subtle movements of the hand
show the master's will to the slave. In like manner Elijah keeps
his eyes fixed On the hand of Yahweh to know the divine intent.
The hand, then, is an important symbol in the relationship be-
tween slave and his/her master or mistress. The hand is also
significant in Teresa's life. Her first imaginative vision is the hand
of Christ: "One day, while I was in prayer, the Lord desired to
show me only His hands" (Life, 28.1). Christ sensitizes Teresa to
his will for her. She becomes in spiritual marriage and so
Teresa also becomes a slave of his Father.
In the Castilian culture. of sixteenth-century Spain, the wife,
for all practical purposes, was the slave of her husband. In the
Way of Perfection, speaking of married women, Teresa observes: "I
know of some who are persons of high station who have serious
illnesses and heavy trials but for fear of annoying their husbands
dare not complain" (11.3). "They say that for a woman to be a
good wife toward her husband she must be sad when he is sad,
and joyful when he is joyful, even though she may not be so. (See
what subjection you have been freed from, Sisters!)" (26.4).
Vilma Seelaus
To be a slave of God is no threat to Teresa. She identifies
with Christ. Christ is not a demanding, domineering husband but
the Beloved with whom Teresa shares a single life. "He is the one
who submits, and He wants you to be the lady with authority to
rule; He submits to your will" (26.4).
The Interior Castle continues the theme of mutuality with God
in Christ. The soul's weakness is joined to . Christ's greatness in
sublime communication (6.9.7). To be a slave of God is to live in
Christ. It is to love others as Christ loves them to the point of
giving one's life. The slave is one who no claim on
tife since it belongs to another. The one who belongs to Chnst,
:shares a mutual belonging to God. Christ is the slave of God
whose brand is the cross. The truly spiritual person gives Christ
;'ler/his Iibert:}) and becomes a slave, but a slave of love (7.4.8).
. Teresa's love relationship with Christ is one of mutuality
3 significant theme in the Interior Castle. What belongs to Christ
to Teresa:
The Crucified, Himself, in consoling her told her He had given
her all the sufferings and trials He had undergone in His Passion
so that she could have them as her own to offer His _Father (6.5.6),
Again speaking of herself in the third person:
,. The Lord represented himself to her ... a.S He was after His
resurrection and told her that now it was time "that she consider as
her own what belonged to Him and that he v.:ould take care of
what was hers ... (7.2.1;. also 7.3.2).
Teresa's experience of God in spiritual nuirriage. is different
the societal expectations of married women. All that is God's
\elongs 'to Teresa. Love creates equality.
. The parable of the prodigal son in Luke reveals more than
(!"'.e image of a forgiving Father. Both sons stand in need of
l".)rgiveness - for his squandered life and the other for self-
condemnation_ of his younger brother. Jesus uses the
elder son's complaint to unveil the face of God: "All I have is
1
ours." The fullness of divine life 'is ours in Christ - not because
ol!e are worthy but because God is all love. Christ frees us from .
fl'le constraint of a demanding god. At the same time He chalk1.1"
1
f::>
\nges us to be for others the Compassion of God. United with
christ, we can relate to others in m1,ltuality, forgiveness and com-
yassion. . ... . . . . . _.
Such freedom to love is the issue of an inner transformation,
;vot without pain and suffering. Leammg to live justly, in true
p\.IIIlility, means in Teresa's imagery that the silkworm must die.
Therefore, courage, my daughters! Let's be quick to do this
work and weave this little cocoon by getting rid of our self-love and
self-will, our attachments to any earthly thing ... Let it die; let this
Teresa revisions humility 34:
silkworm die, as it does in completing what it was created to do!
And you will see how we see God, as well as ourselves placed
inside His greatness, as is this little silkworm within its cocoon
(5.2.6).
To realize life in Christ, even the butterfly must die (7.2.5).
Today the insights of psychology support the language of classical
mysticism. Addiction and co-dependence are widespread societal
. problems. These result in loss of morality and other symptoms
traditionally seen as obstacles in the spiritual journey. Anne Wil-
son Schaef gives the following indicators that a person is back
into the disease process of some addiction: dishonesty, obsessive
self-justification, manipulative and controlling behavior, arrogance,
self-neglect, comparing oneself With others, blaming others, not
taking responsibility for oneself, jealousy. s
. The pain of growth through psychological unfreedom to
greater wholeness is like the life cycle of the egg, the silkworm,
the cocoon and the . butterfly.
6
Teresa describes the intensity of
her own pain: . .
The Lord, it seems, gives the devil license so that the soul. might
be tried and even be made to think it is rejected by God. Many are
the things that war against it with an interior oppression so keen
and unbearable that I don't know what to compare this experience
to if not to the oppression of those that suffer in hell, for no
consolation is allowed in the midst of this tempest (6.1.9).
The one consolation she offers us is faith in Christ who
suffers. with Teresa. Christ companions Teresa through the deep
waters of the ii:mer world toward both individuation and divine
transformation. Within the mystical tradition, she is insistent on
the place of Christ in the human/spiritual (see .
6.7.5-6). In the end, the fragile self becomes tdentified wtth Chnst.
Christ breaks the bonds of finitude and is the self s transcendent
fulfillment. In Christ, unselfishly, Teresa can be for others without
danger of burn-out. Martha and Mary have joined. Prayer is not
for the sak:e' of enjoyment but to have the strength to serve
(7.4.12). All.its concern is taken up with how to please Him more
and how or where it will show Him the love it bears Him (7.4.6).
Humility is the foundation of the building constructed by
Christ. Teresa, the slave of Christ, is now sold by Him as ev-
5
ScHAEF, The Addictive Organization. Of special interest is Chapter 2,
Addictive System - Terms and Characteristics," 57-76.
6
John Welch develops the symbol of the butterfly and inner healing
in his book Spiritual Pilgrims, New York 1982, ch. 6; see esp. 151.
Vilma Seelaus
G.:ryone's slave as He was (7.4.8). The rich soil of her life in Christ
,s readied to enrich the lives of others.
7

Thus humility, today. as always, is . critical to the human/spir-
;fual journey. It is standing in one's own truth before God. We
,j o not compare ourselves with others nor walk in someone else's
,;hoes. Both self-doubt and self-exaggeration give way in the sur-
of one's life to God. In surrender we receive the ALL of
God. A relationship of mutuality with God and compassionate
:_, olidarity in Christ enables one to truly be for others'.
Now we are free of the compulsion to put ourselves or others
down. We can relate eye to . eye, heart to heart, knowing that we
!' 11 share a common pain as well as a common hope. We have
P the justice of God in Christ (2 Cor 5:21). Both the fragility
cr: finitude. and the pull of transcendence are our heritage; this is
ne cosmic sphere of power in which God includes the just. This
1 s the human condition in which life,. death and resurrection con-
1n1ually happen as true humility struggles to take its hold on us.
fhis is also the ambience' in which justice flourishes as we allow
cu.ch other the space to struggle and grow - not as competitors
in loving, compassionate solidarity.

7
VILMA SBELAUS, Fragmentation and Divine Transformation: Meditation .
the Compost Heap, in The Way 28 (1988) 301-312. This article develops Int.
potential for fruitfulness in life's break-downs under the symbol of the
.pOSLheap.
\_V'\)t'sr

"Pioneers of Humanity":
from Lucy to John of the Cross
jOHN WELCH, O.CARM.
E
VELYN UNDERHILL in her 1911 study of mysticism referred to
the mystics as "pioneers of humanity."
1
Led by the Spirit, .
these men and women lived at the front of the human column
arid reported. back the possibilities of our common humanity. They
lived in the far regions of the human spirit where God's Spirit
and our spirits touch. They related what happened to their hu-
manity under the impact of God's love. Their claim was that these
experiences were not theirs alone but were the potential of all
people.
John of the Cross, sixteenth-century Carmelite mystic, was
among the most energetic of these. explorers. He ventured into
realms of the hti:inan where few people had been. No maps were
available for much of the journey. He charted an unknown land,
led . ever. deeper by the The maps he drew, the he
gave to. the land, the expenences he recounted were every hit as
engaging and gripping and, at times, as tedious Charles Dar-
win's Voyage of the Beagle, or John. Stephens' Inculents of Travel
in Yet, writes Underhill, the mystic is "no exploring
alien, but a returned exile ... "
2
The initial charting of John's experiences can be found in his
three. major poems, "The Dark Night," "The Spiritual Canticle,"
and "The Living Flame of Love."
3
John says that his poetry is the
best, most complete expression of his religious experience. His
poetry tells 'Of the impact of Mystery on himself. The poems are
profound expressions of human yearning. They describe the pil-
grimage of the human spirit as it longs for fulfillment. The
also speak of the ineffable richness of that The Im-
agery is a language of the heart, a language of desrre.
John uses no overtly religious language. He tells a love story
set in a primordial landscape. The setting is night, fire, cave,
mountain, valley, breezes and winds. Only such "earthy" language
1
Mysticism, New York 1961, 414.
2
Ibid., 420.
3
Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, tr. Kieran Kavanaugh and
Otilio Rodriguez, Washington DC 1973.