Short in stature, poor in income, but gigantic in spirit, St. John of the Cross lived and wrote in the sixteenth century some of the greatest spiritual books in the world. “The Dark Night of the Soul”, and “The Ascent Of Mount Carmel” are spiritual classics that in over four hundred years have never been out of print. They are two of Medieval Spain’s deep and significant contributions to Christian understanding.

St. John’s writings focus on the interior life, especially the life of prayer. While I can’t plumb the depth of his understanding, St. John of the Cross left many traces of his practice of prayer: “Christ obviously, as one who knew so well his Father’s will, would have told them (the disciples) all that was necessary in order to obtain an answer from the Eternal Father. . . and in fact, he only taught them the seven petitions of the “Our Father”. . . and he did not teach numerous other kinds of prayers and ceremonies” ( “The Ascent of Mount Carmel”)

St. John took Jesus’ words seriously, and spent many hours in prayer. “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans , for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”

(Matthew 6:6-8)

Frequently, fellow priests from their monastery found John sitting outdoors on a rise overlooking fields and vineyards, wrapped in prayer. Sometimes he stayed there for hours, gazing at the landscape and praying. He wasn’t in a room or a closet, but he was alone with God.

It was this that got my attention, and I wondered if sitting alone in our back yard would qualify as a “prayer closet.” I found that it can sometimes. However, it’s limited to good weather, and so I tried the “indoor model’ for prayer,and it reminded me of Christ’s words.

When people saw St. John gazing, they said that it was as if he could see heaven, or at least the pathway that surely led to there. Creation itself can give us a path, for God knows why we have come to the place we seek. When we go into a room, or sit by a stream and open the Bible, or gaze quietly until a prayer reaches our mind, no one in heaven wonders why we have come there. For St. John, gazing and praying were part of his lifestyle. More than 400 years later, they can be part of ours, too.

Love in Him,

Prue