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The Joy of Mortification
The Joy of Mortification

The world tells us that the key to happiness is to figure out what you want, and go get it, letting no one stand in your way. Jesus very obviously wants to point us in the opposite direction, away from ourselves.

The Way Of Prayer: Emotional Humility
The Way Of Prayer: Emotional Humility

We must not be proud of our emotional state in times of deep prayer, or ashamed of it, or otherwise preoccupied with it in any way. Our attention must always be on the Lord, not on what we desire for ourselves, or on agreeable or disagreeable feelings.

Unconditional Freedom With St. John Of The Cross
Unconditional Freedom With St. John Of The Cross

We are familiar with the importance of unconditional love. What the saint teaches us, what is perhaps no less important for holiness, is unconditional freedom.

The Way Of Prayer: You Are Made For Love
The Way Of Prayer: You Are Made For Love

St. John of the Cross does not want merely to bring you close to a true understanding of your flawed and broken self. He also is bringing you close to the fire, to the “living flame of love, that tenderly wounds my soul in the deepest center.”

“You do very well, O soul, to seek Him ever as one hidden, for you exalt God immensely and approach very near Him when you consider Him higher and deeper than anything you can reach.”

St. John of the Cross, The Spiritual Canticle, Stanza 1.12

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Consolation & desolation Glenn Dickinson Consolation & desolation Glenn Dickinson

Mother’s milk

Spiritual writers often describe the progress of soul through the use of metaphors. We sometimes need to be reminded that these are representations, not reality, and St. John of the Cross has an image that works in this way. Beginners in prayer are like babies at their mothers' breasts.

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