Dear Friends of John of the Cross,
Welcome to The Society of Saint John of the Cross website! We’re glad you found us and hope that you will benefit from the information you find here.
The Society was formed out of the belief that the world desperately needs to hear John’s message of poverty, nakedness and detachment as well as the daily carrying of the cross. In no way is this message one of negativity and hardship, but rather one of peace, joy and refreshment. While the journey that John asks us to take may be difficult, the destination--union with God--makes it a journey well worth undertaking. Thomas Dubay, S.M., in his book Seeking Spiritual Direction, says the following:
What fervent seekers need and want are not vague exhortations on Sunday morning, but specific, undiluted guidelines according to which they can live the radical Gospel. Rare, however, is the pastor who does not tone down the Gospel’s hard road and narrow gate, the daily carrying of the cross---either by giving the theme little attention or by positively diluting it. Few are the guides who urge their disciples to give up all they possess (Lk 14:33), all egotistic clingings, that they may taste and drink deeply and thus experience the goodness of the Lord (Ps 34:8), and find in him a joy beyond all worded expression (1 Pt 1:18). The Church should aim at making saints, nothing less.
John does give us the specific and undiluted guidelines for living the radical Gospel. He asks us to give up our egotistic clingings not out of hardness and coldness of heart, but rather out of love and the desire for us to experience the joy of the full life of the spirit. For John, renunciation is never negative but, in the words of Leonard Doohan, “a choice in love for a better experience of God.” We look forward to sharing this “better experience” with you.
Thank you very much for visiting this website. Please feel free to e-mail us with any comments, suggestions, insights, etc. you may have. We would love to hear from you. As you can well see, this website is definitely a work in progress!
Yours in Christ,
Owen Davis
