Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21003 in Books
• Published on: 1991-01-01
• Original language: Spanish
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 814 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Spanish

Customer Reviews

An Insight Into The Mystical
"The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross" consists of the writings of this 16th century Spanish Mystic and Doctor of the Church. St. John was a Carmelite friar and friend of St. Theresa of Avila. A valued spiritual counselor, many of his works were written as instruction to religious who sought his guidance.

The book consists of four major works and many minor works. The major works are "The Ascent of Mount Carmel", "The Dark Night", "The Spiritual Canticle" and "The Living Flame of Love". Each of the major works consists of a poem, written by St. John, and an extensive, word by word, explanation. In the explanation, St. John reveals his own theology, supported by verses from Scripture.

The minor works consist of letters written to his contemporaries as well as a collection of St. John's poetry.

This is definitely not light reading. The reader must concentrate on his the text in order to appreciate what he is reading. I am glad that I read it from two perspectives. From an historical perspective, it provides the reader with a good introduction into the world of mystical writing. More importantly, from a spiritual perspective, this book gives the reader an insight into God's call to all Christians to draw themselves more closely to Himself. The spirit of this book is difficult to explain. It is a classical book which is better experienced than described.

Perfect, maybe too perfect
The collected works of St. John of the Cross have been central to my own search for (or attempt to establish)a deep and authentic spiritual life. Because John is further removed than I realized twenty years ago from our current social context, it is very possible to misunderstand John in one way or another. His guidance is essentially flawless, but his parlance can be misunderstood. To remedy this in part, I obtained his collected works in the original Spanish. That has turned out to be helpful. While the translation is careful and correct, it necessarily fails to preserve the tone of the original in many specific contexts. To my own "ear" for prose, John actually speaks in a less sophisticated voice than the translator gives him. I find that voice easier to understand. My "bottom line" is that any interested person should definitely buy this book and read it thoroughly, but be quite careful to understand it in the original context. I know of no more difficult (or rewarding) book to read with actual insight.

NIV vs King James
I was almost dissuaded from buying this by Ms Ramirez' review but having all of John's works in one book was too much to resist, and I'm very glad I went ahead and bought it. Concerning the "old" English translation so admired by Ms Ramirez, it certainly sounds very beautiful but it is also very difficult to understand whereas this translation by Kavanaugh and Rodriguez is extremely easy to read and grasp. Sound and rhythm have their attraction, but I'll take understanding any day. Who among you honestly gathers more insight from the King James version of the bible as opposed to the NIV? The same principle applies here. The Collected Works does NOT read like a "text book", the layout is wonderful and the value of having all of John's works in hand is inestimable. Buy it, treasure it - it holds the full depth of true Christianity within it's covers. Indeed, it is a map of the landscape leading to heaven by one who knows the Way, and in simple terms understandable to all.