Nothing, nothing, nothing: John of the Cross
John of the Cross, the sixteenth century Spanish mystical author, is known for his way of "nada" - of nothing, or "no-thing" - leading us beyond all created things and concepts and attachments to a direct experience of union with God. In this, we pass through a "dark night of the soul," when it might seem at first that all is lost, but the emptiness secured by our freedom from worldly attachments makes it possible for God to draw us toward himself.
This is part four in a four-part series on Christian mysticism:
1. "God is not good": Pseudo-Dionysius ( • "God is not good": Pse... )
2. God beyond God: Meister Eckhart ( • God beyond God: Meiste... )
3. Chambers of the soul: Teresa of Avila ( • Chambers of the soul: ... )
4. Nothing, nothing, nothing: John of the Cross ( • Nothing, nothing, noth... )
Пікірлер: 20
10/10 Best of the Best of the Internet
Fantastic series
This was a really well done series on these four mystics. A great introduction and launching off point for people to go more deeply into them, benefit from their useful advice and practice the things they describe. In this age of KZread, we are extremely fortunate to have access to the teachings of the greatest mystics who lay out the path to God in great detail and guidance. Even just 20 years ago, relatively few people had basically free access to all of this incredibly useful and important information. Now in most parts of the US, even a person without a computer or a smart phone can go to a public library and use a computer to watch KZread videos about this stuff and read articles on the Internet about it. The really surprising thing is how few people are actually availing themselves of the opportunities. Great videos like the ones in the series have tiny amounts of views compared to a lot of lame KZread videos, most of which are leading them up the wrong mountain that St. John of the cross talks about… The mountain with nowhere to go once you reach the top.
Thank you Fr. Bill, God Bless
Thank you!!
Very well done! Thank you!
Nicely done sir, thank you.
Thanks for getting me through my dissertation!!!
Amazing! Not sure the only parh is suffering but I now I know the teachings of a saint that only knew by name before. Now to listen to the Teresa de Avila lecture. Forgive me St.John if I'm being a spiritual glutenous 😊
@elzoog
10 ай бұрын
Suffering is just part of life. Just deal with the suffering currently presented to you. There is no need to add to your suffering what you don't already have.
Challenging teachings , well presented . I think it is useful to think of God as “ nada “ , not as an idea or notion, in order for one to be available to experience His presence , by orienting our undivided attention to Him . If Jesus is the Wisdom of God , it is because He emptied himself of all things ( kenosis ) . The sheer grace of God means relying solely on our acceptance of that grace , and not being “ a try hard .”. “God” is the presence through whom we know our ‘true self’ ( imageo dei ) and find that “ inner castle” . If more people of faith would understand that aridity , and ‘ spiritual wilderness’ experiences are part of life on earth , there would be a lot less distress and angst . As Jesus said “ It is finished .” Thanks.
This refers to the cloud of unknowing.
🙏
excellent presentation, I throughly enjoyed the diagram
@labyrinthsideas
9 ай бұрын
Yes, the diagram is my favorite thing here! Visual learner 😄
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Hello and thank you for a great series on mysticism. I wonder if you could tell me where the imitation of Christ and st Thérèse of Lisieux fit into this tradition ?
In St John of the Cross's day the church might have been considered a necessary part of the journey, but these days, we are able to discard that as well. In fact, due to the appalling wordliness and corruption of the present day church, it is more a hindrance to spiritual growth than otherwise. We must glean all the virtue we can from its teachings, but avoid its horrible examples of depravity in the guise of virtue.