If you\u2019ll\u00a0allow him to, St. John of the cross\u00a0will take you on an unforgettable journey. Like the romantic he is, he\u2019s reaching for your\u00a0hand, to steal away with you into the night. It\u2019s a night of stark\u00a0contrasts: the black darker than midnight, and the bright light\u00a0more radiant than dawn.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>Here is a little taste of his incredible poetry: 1. On a dark night, aroused in love with yearnings\u2014 2. In darkness and secure, by the secret ladder, 3. In the happy night, in secret, when no one saw me, 4. This light guided me more surely than the light of 5. Oh, night that guided me, oh, night more lovely 6. He slept soundly on my flowery breast, which I had 7. The breeze blew from the turret as I parted his hair; 8. I remained, lost in forgetfulness; I lay my face on the Today is the birthday of St. John of the Cross, a man Thomas Merton called “the greatest of all mystical theologians. Claudia Mair Burney describes his writing in The Ascent of Mount Carmel\u00a0like this: If you\u2019ll\u00a0allow him to, St. John … Continue reading ![\"Ascent](\"http:\/\/blog.paracletepress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/ascent-of-mount-carmel-paraclete-essentials-2.jpg\")
<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
\noh, happy chance!\u2014
\nI went out without being observed, since all in my
\nhouse were asleep.<\/em><\/p>\n
\ndisguised\u2014oh, happy chance!\u2014
\nconcealed and in darkness, since all in my house
\nwere asleep,<\/p>\n
\nnor did I see anyone, without light or guide, except
\nthe light that burned in my
\nheart,<\/p>\n
\nnoon,
\nto the place where he (well I knew who!) was
\nwaiting for me\u2014
\nA place where no one appeared.<\/p>\n
\nthan the dawn,
\noh, night that joined beloved with lover, lover
\ntransformed in the beloved!<\/p>\n
\nkept wholly for him alone,
\nAnd I caressed him, and the fanning of the cedars
\nmade a breeze.<\/p>\n
\nhe wounded my neck with his gentle hand, and
\nsuspended all my senses.<\/p>\n
\nbeloved.
\neverything stopped and I abandoned myself,
\nforgetting my cares among the lilies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"