“Forsake not the discipline.” These words are reported as among the very first and very last teachings of St. Antony of the Desert by his spiritual son, St. Athanasius. The Christian life is not something we master – but it does give us everything we need to master ourselves in the new and unrepeatable circumstances
In order to secure our true liberty, even while we were enslaved to sin, Christ suffered the night of death and ransomed us by His blood. This is why the Lord respects human freedom, even when it is the source of great sorrow. Aware of our frailty, God does not overpower our freedom but delights
“Nescivi!” This is the Latin for what it seems the Shulamite Bride of the Canticle of Canticles sings in 6:12. The passage is difficult to translate. One 16th Century Doctor of the Church, Saint John of the Cross, understood it to be the declaration of a lover captivated with thoughts of her Beloved. The Latin
With rich biblical imagery, St. John of the Cross describes the soul as a jubilant bride who sings mysterious verses and wants nothing other than to live in intimacy with her bridegroom. She ventures out with courage while the beauty of night cloaks her from anyone and anything that might prevent her from finding the
Christian prayer is meant to blaze forth from the Deepest Center of the soul. In his powerful Living Flame of Love, St. John of the Cross explains this Deepest Center. Many spiritual writers recognize the need for interiority that a term like the Deepest Center suggests. Sometimes, however, what certain authors describe as the center of the
In prayer, the Father speaks His Word to us. This is the Word whispered deep into our humble poverty so that in our frailty we might know a love that surpasses every hope. This eternal Utterance tenderly resounds in humanity’s deepest needs and sorrows to disclose that ancient hidden joy which bubbles through all that
