The Impact of God: Soundings from St John of the Cross

by Iain Matthew

St John of the Cross testifies to a God who longs to meet us in our deepest need. Whilst rejection and imprisonment played their part in the life of this sixteenth-century Spanish friar, John's poetry and prose reveal the beauty and power of a wondrous God. It gives us courage to believe in the possibility of change in our own lives, however unlikely or impossible this may seem.
Father Iain Matthew uses this classic inspirational Christian writing as his starting point, and offers five interpretations which make its richness relevant to the modern reader.

Genres: Spirituality, Catholic, Religion, Christianity, Theology, Poetry, Mysticism

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

Reviews

[booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

John of the Cross has not come easy to me. And he frightens me a bit. At first, I thought it was ‘the Cross’ in his name, but eventually I came to realize it was just trying to climb his dry mountain in Ascent. I love mountains and the Carmelite Spirituality of Sts. Teresa of Ávila and Thérèse de Lisieux didn’t present a challenge for me—at least not insofar as understanding went—but John was/is another story.

St. Therese wrote about being too little to climb his mountain and finding an elevator to lift her to the heights. And while I love and try to practice her ‘Little Way’, as a Carmelite in formation I still have to read St. John’s works and try to understand his teaching. Where was the code to help me figure him out? I’ve read a number of books now on John and while each has added to my understanding of him, none had yet opened him up as Fr. Iain Matthew’s The Impact of God just did.

It begins with an excellent foreword by Jean Vanier, best known for his many years work with L’Arche, a community for adults with learning disabilities. He acknowledges John is misunderstood, ‘For some people, John of the Cross, the John of Pain and of Ecstasy, seems too austere and complicated: for others he seems too pantheistic, not sufficiently Christ-centred. Iain Matthew reveals beautifully the true John, firmly centred in Jesus, in love with Jesus, the John who through all his life and teaching shows the path to inner liberation and union with God. This book will help many to be God-centred, Jesus-centred, and in all things centred in love.’

The book is divided into 5 parts: Entry, Gift, Space, Healing, and Encounter. They each pertain to a significant juncture in the individual’s relationship to Jesus along the spiritual journey. As I read on, the clouds began to slowly part.

For example, in Part I, Entry, Matthew, introduces us to John, gives a brief history of his life and background, especially focusing on personality traits which ideally suit him as teacher/writer: sensitivity, creativity, flexibility, respectfulness, ability to dialogue, gentleness, and perceptiveness about the infinite varieties of God’s attributes as well as those same characteristics to be found in His creatures.

‘John of the Cross speaks to people who feel unable to change. … He testifies to a God who, precisely, is pressing in to meet, to change, and to fill us in our deepest need. … The second aim of this book is to hear John as he follows the consequences of his vision of God through to those outer regions where God seems absent. … (The) third aim: John’s experience of impact and of darkness is in itself no guarantee that our own lives are open to the divine. Scripture knows of only one Way; only if John’s word speaks to us of Jesus could it claim to be valid for all.’

In Part II, Gift, we learn what John’s major works signify: Each of the four works has a different emphasis, and a different style. Ascent is primarily a treatise, on Christian growth; Night is descriptive, portraying growth at its most painful; Canticle is lyrical, sometimes allegorical, where growth is a lovers’ journey of search and encounter. However, it is Flame which is the most poetic. There are sections of practical guidance; but most paragraphs just let the verses unfold their compacted meaning, with poetic images ‘rippling out across the page. This is John at his most relaxed, able thus to be most intense. It is a song of wonder, and is not really ‘for’ anything, other than itself.’ The Living Flame – poem and commentary – was his personal favorite and the one he would keep if only one was left to him. It was devoted to and about the Holy Spirit.

John’s purpose in this poem would be to help his spiritual directees and readers move beyond the inner self as spirit, center, or depth. He wants them—and by extension us—to see this, but even more: new forms, new combinations to convey that ‘extra’: ‘in the middle of the heart of the spirit’; ‘the intimate substance of the depth of the soul’; even the ‘infinite center’. He wrote: ‘No words have been invented for the works of God in such souls. The only language to cope with them is acceptance for oneself, experience, joy and silence.’ Eventually he had to surrender to a sort of brilliant failure to put into any words what he was trying to describe. Doesn’t this make you want to read this work? I know, I am thrilled and wonder why I have heard so little about this masterpiece and so much about his other works.

Also, in this rich Part II, called simply Gift, is the section called, The Gospel Has Eyes. John longed for those eyes, the loving eyes of the Bridegroom, Jesus. We learn that God’s gaze works four blessings in our soul: cleansing, beautifying, enriching and enlightening. We are to rely on faith rather than evidence and ‘where God is concerned, the problem lies in our desiring too little, and growing means expanding our expectations; or rather, making his generosity, not our poverty, the measure of our expectations. ‘What prepares the soul to be united with God is: the desire for God.’’

In Part III, Space, Matthew first reviews what we have learned to show us where we are: God sounded the impact on our soul in Part I, Entry, and assuming we responded to His Living Flame in Part II, our current task is to realize: ‘If the person is seeking God, much more is her Beloved seeking her.’ This is the fact, and it requires a fundamental revision in our perceptions of our own roles. Meaning, we are the acted upon, not the actor, as we usually see ourselves. Matthew uses the image of a helicopter coming to our aide and we must ‘make space’ for our own spiritual rescue by God. To explain this reverse (to our way of thinking) concept John uses many metaphors throughout his poetry, especially his infamous, nada, or nothing. To make space, one must surrender. Oh, how hard that is! His discussion on the blockages was very familiar, followed by the remedy: choose the person of Christ, and get used to making him, not your feelings, your ultimate basis for action. A simplified explanation of John’s guidelines for how to do this followed.

Part IV, Healing, is probably the chapter of greatest interest. It concerns, “The Dark Night”. Healing as Night? Yes. If you are like me, this seems more than a little off. Healing should follow the suffering, the darkness, right? John insists THIS is where it happens. He is a poet and likes poetical symbols. He chose ‘flame’ for the Holy Spirit and now he insists on ‘Dark Night’ as God’s chosen time/mode to heal us, Night, endlessly repeating every 24-hours and in deepest Dark(ness). And not understanding either or God’s purposes, we do everything we to avoid both. ??? ‘When God approaches as who he is, I am liable to feel myself for what I am. As a physical sign of growth is growing pains, so a sign of God’s gift is the pain of being widened. This is the blessedness of night, that God, who wants to give, undertakes to make space in us for his gift. That, then, is the terminology: contemplation: a loving inflow of God; night: his love felt as pain. … Night is taking us, then, not to some soirée for a self-preoccupied élite, but to the heart of the world’s suffering. It declares the world’s wounds to be spaces through which God may graciously enter. St. John assures us we must journey into this darkness, that there is somewhere to go; and while the maps may be incomplete, the principal guide is infallible and the destiny worth reaching. Night serves another purpose. It softens us. It melts the ‘brittleness’ towards others which comes from being full of ourselves. As we begin to see ourselves as we truly are, we can become ‘gentle’, John says, towards God, towards ourselves, and towards others. The darkness clarifies our spiritual vision and we discover healing must come from elsewhere: we are too bound to ourselves to be our own liberators. Even were we free, the ultimate healing lies beyond our grasp. The real ‘wound’ is our need for God, and God himself must be the cure. But this does not mean John ties all the suffering of our ‘nights’ up into neat little packages and says, “There you are! Everything is okay now that you know what is going on”. Quite the reverse. John knows that things are a mess, we hurt, sorrow, anguish and cry out, but he is saying through it all, God IS there suffering it all with us.

Part V, Encounter is my personal favorite because it is all about prayer. Still working on that...


January 24, 2019: Finished it! Now I want to outline it and do a review. This is a book to spend some time and review thoroughly, so it will take some time. 5+ stars

January 12, 2019: This book is phenomenal! It is the best book I have ever read on John of the Cross. Have already decided I will need to reread, for level of detail in review. Oh darn! Could stop of course and outline as I go ...


January 2, 2019: Thank you Richard for recommending this to me! Good as it looked, it only recently became available to me. One of the bennies of serving as our Carmelite Community Librarian is being first to peruse new books! One of my Carmelite sisters brought this to our last meeting and I just have to survey it while entering it into our library data system. 😉

[Amanda Foto · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Jesus wanted, not necessarily to dismiss pain, but to sustain faith in the pain; so John is aware that one can go through with it, not if suffering is lessened to my threshold, but if I know I am not alone”

One of the best spiritual books I’ve read. It provided great relief to the wrestlings of real emotional pain and allowed God to enter in places I didn’t think He could. Wonderful introduction to a pretty intimidating Saint!

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best spiritual books I've read. I didn't have much of a background on John of the Cross beforehand, but my spiritual director recommended this to me as an introduction to his spirituality and writings. It's excellent and definitely goes in the same category of spiritual books I'll read again and again.

[Tom Canuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful read! I had no idea about how beautiful the writings of John of the Cross were before Fr. Iain Matthew explained it so eloquently. It’s a very graspable book to bring John’s difficult theological intellect to a tangible level. Really enjoyed this one!

[Jeff Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely helpful book on St. John of the Cross. This enters deeply into his writings and his life. While his writings will never be easily accessible, this book is a good guide into them and bringing out more to me than in other books I have read about him.

[Emily Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to digest reflections and insights on poems of St. John of the Cross. Sort of has Interior Castle vibes but on a much easier level of understanding lol. Also, never read anything about St. John of the Cross but omg he’s INCREDIBLE. Want to read more of his writings for sure.

[Katie Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Surrender, and be with the one who is content to be with us.”

[Rachel Thooft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. One of the best books on the spiritual life I have ever read. Iain Matthew's language does an amazing job of illuminating the beauty and depth in John of the Cross's writings. Highly recommend!

[Patrick Riviere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic little book on John of the Cross and, incidentally, the spiritual life as a whole. Highly recommended.

[Damos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to get a grip on this book but it did happen. I don't know if I have the intellect to understand St John of the Cross without a book like this one. A priceless insight. A beautiful breakdown of the depths of what faith, hope & love really are.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing commentary and perspective of St John of the Cross’s writings and theology. Super interesting wya of looking at prayer and encounter with God. Need to continually look back at this book and its concepts.

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really pressed into the idea of connecting with the heart of God. I pondered the writing for days and months and even shared thoughts out of it with several discipleship groups that I meet with. I was challenged to be more present with God in the deepest place & space of my heart/soul. St John of the Cross had an amazing story of connecting the deepest with God when he was imprisoned for years and actually felt the most abandoned. It was during this time where he discovered the presence of God away from everything else and possibly deeper than I can imagine. This will be a book i re-visit for sure.

[Ona Kiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really thoughtful and tender exploration of the life and teachings of St. John of the Cross. Easy to read and short. :)

After further consideration I'd say this is a really genius book, as it is practice focused, discussing St. John of the Cross's life and work in terms of how one can understand and apply his ideas, experiences, wisdom and teachings in ones own spiritual life.

[Nita · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only way to understand the narrative of St. John of the Cross. beautifully written, a powerful understanding of suffering

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book!

[Ann Yeong · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide to St. John of the Cross. Introduces the saint's spirit and writing simply yet powerfully. A soul-probing read!

[Judy Olmanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I'll re-read this many times for its lucid exposition on John of the Cross, the meanings and impact if his writings for us today. It's a should, must read for anyone seeking God.

[Les Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great guide for reading and understanding St John of the Cross

[Walter Wittwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first time I heard of John of the Cross and his dark night of the soul, I have felt a kinship with him. This 1995 book by Fr. Matthew, a Disclaced Carmelite who has served in Oxford and Dublin, taught at a number of Universities including Notre Dame and served as Chaplain at Notre Dame, is a close look at the life of John, and his works.



John was born in 1542 in Spain and never left, though traveling through much of the center of Spain, an estimated 8,600 miles. He was known as a quiet man in demeanor but not in communication. He and Teresa of Avila had a mutual love for each other. Though 27 years his senior, Teresa respected John immensely and often pointed her followers to him. When John met the 52-year-old Teresa at the age of 25, he was an inexperienced friar and she helped form him. As time passed, he also formed her. She wrote of him, “Even though he is small, I understand him to be huge in the eyes of God.”



At age 21 John joined a community of Carmelite friars, went to university, was ordained a priest, and, after meeting Teresa, the two of them sought reforms and renewal. Reforms are often met with resistance by the “establishment,” so in 1577, John was kidnapped by friars opposing these changes. He was taken to Toledo and incarcerated, first in a prison, and then in a tiny closet, with little or no light. He was malnourished, flogged regularly, and submitted to psychological torture. He avoided certain death by escaping after nine months. He found protection in a Teresian convent.



As the sisters got to know this young ex-convict, still weak and faltering, they became incensed at his calling their foundress, Teresa, “my daughter.” One of the sisters wrote to Teresa to let her know of his audacity. She wrote back, “I was amused, daughter, at your complaint: how unfounded it is! Don't you have my father there, John of the Cross? He is a man whose home is in heaven, full of God. I can assure you that since he went down there, I have found no one like him in all Castile…The sisters should open their souls to him - they will see how much good it does them.”



Though often mis-judged, John was a sensitive listener, and this would often be his undoing. In a rigid hierarchy and culture where religious uniformity was highly prized, his individual counseling was often misunderstood. In saying that, “God carries each person along a different road, so that you will scarcely find two people following the same route and even half of their journey to God….Flexibility is fundamental because it alone does justice to the dignity of each person, a most beautiful and finely wrought image of God….Growth, though it has its crises, is gradual….It all happens at God's pace, and so all at once. It has to become ours at our pace, and so little by little.” Ultimately, all these divergent roads met at the same narrow gate, but many are the ways to that gate. “No one comes to the Father, except through Me.” (Jn.14:6)



John was a poet, which may be part of my connection to him, and he began his poetry, as far as I can tell, while imprisoned. Much of his writing was in the form of commentaries on his poetry. “Canticle” was his commentary on the prison poem, “Where have You hidden?” “Ascent” and “Night” are commentaries on his most famous poem, “One Dark Night.” And his commentary on his hymn to the Holy Spirit, “Living Flame.” His poetry is deep, cryptic, rich, intimidating, intimate, grasping for words that don’t exist. “The language he stretches sometimes snaps, unable to keep up with the advances of his spirit….No words have been invented for the works of God.”



God is other, but active in our life. John wants so badly for each of us to understand, and open to the ravaging of our God’s unfathomably deep love.



“Flame, alive, compelling,

yet tender past all telling,

reaching the secret center of my soul!

Since now evasions over,

finish your work, my Lover,

break the last thread, wound me and make me whole!



Burn that is for my healing!

Wound of delight past feeling!

Ah, gentle hand whose touch is a caress,

foretaste of heaven conveying

and every debt repaying:

slaying, you give me life for death’s distress



O lamps of fire bright-burning

with splendid brilliance, turning

deep caverns of my soul to pools of light!

Once shadowed, dim, unknowing,

now their strange new-found glowing

gives warmth and radiance for my Love's delight.



Ah! gentle and so loving

you wake within me, proving

that you are there in secret and alone;

your fragrant breathing stills me,

your grace, your glory fills me

so tenderly your love becomes my own.”



“Where God is concerned, love is neve idle; it is in continuous movement.” God is eager to belong to each of us. We are not always eager to belong to God.

Walter J

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just excellent. Anyone who plans to tackle St. John’s original works would help himself by reading this first—especially as it would give insight as to where to start. I appreciated the scholarship that tied St. John’s works together and rebuffed mistakes in interpretation while also giving practical applications to my own prayer life. There is a more thorough synthesis (P. Marie Eugene, O.C.D.) of the Carmelite spirituality which covers St. Teresa, too, but this book is just wonderful in its simplicity and clarity. Of course it has lofty ideas, but Fr. Matthew brings it to a place I think most people can benefit.

Other note: Sadly the forward is by Jean Vanier in this edition, and I don’t see any other available. I wish they would update and leave it out. I hate having to warn people when handing them a book…

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a better book than 3 stars, maybe for a future reread, but for me it is too mystical to be a good inspirational. St. John of the Cross is difficult, but Lain Matthew keeps insisting that he is not, tries to explain, and just makes him even more difficult. There is so much, that my head cannot keep order of it - so much that one kind of has to give oneself into the contemplative life that John himself was living - making his writings not so much for everybody as for monks. John of the Cross already used a lot of images, and Iain Matthew uses even more to try to explain - or interpret him.

There is a lot of good in here. Lot of nuggets. A lot of thoughts, experiences, and deep affection of Christ are dragged and squeezed out of the writings of John of the Cross, so if that rings good for you, then pick this book up!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, concise yet easy to understand walk through the writings of St. John of the Cross. I've tried to read John of the Cross a couple times and got bogged down. His poetry was so moving to me. I felt so drawn to it and yet the explanations that John wrote were too much for me. This book has given me a desire to try again. I'll keep this book close at hand for reference. One of the things that really helped was the inclusion of some letters and excerpts of biographies that show how John was in dealing with people who needed advice. It seems he was on fire with love of God and ever so tender with people. That is probably someone worth listening to. Great book if you are at all interested in this mystic.

[Jeremy Bonnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book forced me to stretch my focus and thinking. I've never been the biggest reader of poetry, so the sections of poems and analysis made me to have to read parts again. There were still sections and ideas that I didn't fully understand. I will likely read this book again at some point in the future and highlight / mark sections. There were plenty of things that I did understand and very much enjoyed.

4.4 out of 5 stars

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Introduction to St. John of the Cross's writings. Perhaps it just came at the right time in my life, but, personally, this book was mind-blowing and changed my approach to prayer. Matthew goes through SJotC's writings one by one, explaining the process of emptying in order to be filled by God, being "pierced by the glance of love" - ahh! Can't recommend it enough.

[Giuseppe Butera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and faithful

A clear and faithful presentation of St. John of the Cross’s mystical theology of prayer. It is profoundly encouraging, and underlines the goodness of the Lord who invites all sinners, especially the worst of them, to come to Him that he might heal them and give them life.

[NIGEL PEARCE · Rating 5 out of 5]

This capture St John of the cross of being in the presence of God. Not so much a road map but just a pairing behind the hidden curtain of this God which needs to be found in the hidden. Father Iain Matthew is a master of simplifying the complex and poetic message of St John of the cross. Very insightful and a book that needs to be read over and over again.

[Hayley Shaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We are, from our origin, shaped for Christ, a capacity, a need for Christ. That - our incompleteness - is our dignity, and when we feel it we are most truly ourselves. When we utter our appeal from there, we are being mature, being what we were meant to be. That appeal is prayer. For the human person, then, prayer is a supreme value”

[Lisa Brockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book about the dark night of the soul. Matthews takes the life, poetry and teaching of St. John of the Cross and masterfully writes a book which frames the journey through the dark night, bringing hope and comfort.

[C.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read when it comes to a book ON another book/person. Matthew pulls the marrow out of John of the Cross, so that even if you cannot read Spanish, or are lost in the commentaries, you find his heart and substance digestible. It's a wonder.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough, well-researched analysis of John of the Cross and his writings. Having read and studied John's life, works, and theology, I can attest that this is an excellent overview, an in-depth one. Matthew touches upon and demonstrates the practicality of all John's major insights into the spiritual life.

John was a superb writer, a Catholic, and a Carmelite, and so Iain Matthew. And this tome reads like one written for Christians. It is uncompromising, as was John, to the centrality of Jesus in the life of the church and history. Yet, John's wisdom leaps out of the church box for everyone, anyone, for the Christ he experienced as love does also - not able to be held within an ideology, called theology, or an institution, called church.

Possibly, then, for non-Christians, John offers a way to relate to Christ, Christians, and the church in a new way. This way may not be about becoming a Christian or believing Jesus was or is a Christian Christ, but that Jesus showed and shows us the Way to and of Love, a Love that manifests as Love chooses, as it did through the simple human garb of one called Jesus of Nazareth - and you and me, if we so choose.