The Ascent of Joy

by John of the Cross

A step by step introduction into the heart of the spiritual way taught by John of the Cross.

152 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

St. John of the Cross (Spanish: Juan de la Cruz), born June 24 1542, Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major Counter-Reformation figure, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest. He was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with St Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. He's also known for his writings. Both his poetry & his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish literature & a peak of all Spanish literature. He was canonized as a saint in 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He is one of the 33 Doctors of the Church. (less)

Reviews

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've felt a certain lack, how can I be a Carmelite with zero exposure to St John of the Cross? So I picked up a few books including this one. It begins with a brief biographical sketch, and then starts to explain his teaching.

On page 21 Fr Foley mentions that John's favorite scripture passage was that of John 17, which he committed to memory and would often sing it to his brothers. I looked it up, you should too ;). It's long but worth it.

Pages 23-26 explains how in the beginning stages (the "honeymoon"), the spiritual practices feel delightful, but when you have grown a little it changes, "everything seems to be functioning in reverse".

During the time of consolation, the soul has come to believe that feeling are the yardsticks for measuring spiritual growth: "The more deeply I feel the consoling presence of God, the closer I am to God." As a result of such an equation, "beginners" who now no longer experience these consolations, conclude that something must be wrong." ... John says that ... the dryness and lack of consolation in prayer and the want of fervor for the things of God may not be indications that something is wrong but signs that everything is right.

I seem to be going through cycles of this; sometimes I feel this closeness to God, and sometimes it's dry... I don't know what that indicates. Just now I feel like I may be back in the honeymoon stage; I suppose I needed that, but I do know that I shouldn't cling to the consolations I'm receiving.

On page 26, Fr. Foley asks, "how does a soul know that its lack of consolation is due to the work on God and is not the result of something else such as laxity?" And then he leaves it unanswered, except hinting that John gives us "three signs" for discernment. Umm. What three signs would that be?

-- The answer is covered much later in the book.

This was excellent. Some parts weren't relevant to me as I'm clearly not that advanced, but it made sense anyway. I will probably need to reread this regularly.

[Brett Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Marc Foley's interpretation of St. John of the Cross' metaphor enlightening. The metaphor of the dark night as symbolic of the soul's journey as it grows in relationship to God was insightful in regards to my own journey. The perils that befall those who are new to the faith, the problem of spiritual dryness, as well as what a true relationship with God really looks like are all things that I found correlations in my own journey.