St, Juan De La Cruz

John of the Cross
Selected Writings: The Ascent of Mount Carmel Pg.41
CHAPTER ONE
“Some remarks about the two different knights through which spiritual persons pass in both the lower and higher parts of their nature. A commentary on the first stanza.
First stanza:
One dark knight,
Fired the love’s urgent longings
--Ah, the sheer grace!—
I went out unseen
My house being now all still;The soul must pass through two different kinds of knights, called purifications of the soul which will be called knights for it is as if the soul where to journey as though by knight.
The first knight concerns the sensory part of the soul, & The second knight concerns the spiritual part.
In the first knight: God introduces them into the state of contemplation. & on the second: To thosewho are already proficient (capable) God will lead to Divine Union.
Commentary on the stanza
In this dark knight it is a privation to all the external things of the world, delights of the flesh, and gratifications (pleasures) of the will. The souls are unable alone to empty themselves of their appetites in order to reach God.
CHAPTER TWO
“The nature of the dark night through which a souljourneys to divine union.”
One dark knight
First reason: Deprives an individual’s appetites for worldly possessions, which is a night for all its senses.
Second reason: The road of faith which a person must travel, for the intellect, faith is like a dark knight.
Third reason: Refers to the point of arrival, which namely God,
The soul passes through these knights in order to reach union with God.CHAPTER THREE
“The first cause of this knight—the privation of the appetite in all things. The reason for the use of the expression “night.”
The word “night” is used to describe the removal of the satisfaction of the soul’s appetites in all things. When the light is extinguished the eye can no longer see, and the eye feeds on its objects no more. The same to people when they mortify theirappetites they no longer feed on pleasure of his things. The human sensory perceptions of hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch are unavoidable, but they will no longer hold back a soul if it denies them. “Pauper sum ego, et in laboribus a juventute mea (I am poor and in labors for my youth) [Psalm 88:16]. Even though David was rich his will was not fixed in riches. This can also be called thedenudation of the soul’s desires and pleasures.
CHAPTER FOUR
“The necessary of truly passing through this dark night of senses (the mortification of the appetites) in order to journey to union with God.”
A person’s attachment to creatures is pure darkness in God’s sight. “Tenebrae eam no comprehenderunt.” (The darkness could not receive the light) [John 1:5]. In philosophy we learn that twocreatures cannot exist in the same subject, darkness, an attachment to creatures, and light, which is God. They are two contraries and bear no likeness toward each other. “Quae convention lucis ad tenebras?” (What conformity is there between light and darkness?) [2 Corinthians 6:14]. So, the light cannot be established in the soul without first its affections are eliminated. The attachment tocreatures makes the person equal to the creature; the stronger tit is the closer is the likeness to the creature. Because love lowers itself to the loved one and it lessens when love increases. “Similis illis fiant qui faciunt ea, et omnes qui confidunt in eis (Let all who set their hearts on them become like them.) [Psalms 115:8]. The soul that loves something becomes incapable of union andtransformation in God. Creatures are less than darkness of light to God. A person attached to creatures is unable to comprehend God. A person attached to creatures is extremely ugly in God’s sight. The beauty of God Compared to that of creatures is unsurpassable. The goodness of creatures compared to God’s can be called wickedness. “Dixit autem ei Iesus: " Quid me dicis bonum? Nemo bonus nisi solus Deus”...