St John of the Cross has been a significant influence on my 'spiritual journey' ... for a long time ... particularly his books 'Dark Night of the Soul' and 'Ascent of Mount Carmel'.
I also had an experience involving St John of the Cross that seemed up close and personal. It happened in August 2003 ... I had just finished walking the Ruta De La Plata ... my most difficult yet perhaps the most exilarating Camino. I returned to Madrid hoping to catch an early flight to Canada ... two days before my scheduled flight. No luck ... I had to wait the two days and I had no idea what to do in Madrid while waiting for my flight. I found an information kiosk ... for tourists ... and while waiting my turn I was drawn to what the lady ahead of me was doing. Remember all the conversation is in Spanish so I understood very little of what was being discussed. Nonetheless, somehow I managed to learn she was enquiring about Segovia and St John of the Cross. Apparently he spent some time in Segovia and I later learned that his Shrine is also in Segovia.
Turns out Segovia isn't far from Madrid ... I bought a bus ticket and was on my way! I had some difficulty finding the bus station but when I thought I was completely lost I caught sight of the same lady that was at the information kiosk. What luck eh! ... I followed her to the bus.
Segovia is a very intersting and historic Spanish community ... lots to see ... I was particularly fascinated with their Roman aqueduct ... which is still functional and the Segovia Cathedral.
I had just purchased a new pair of shoes in Santiago Compostella ... I was tired of wearing my walking boots. I tried wearing these new shoes for the first time in Segovia ... couldn't keep them on my feet ... decided to spend some time walking around barefoot. I didn't realize the significance of this ... walking around barefoot ... until several years later. I had known for several years that St John of the Cross was associated with the Discalced Carmelites before I learned what the word 'discalced' meant. Several years after this experience ... at mass in Guelph ... the Priest explained the word during his homily ... it means 'barefoot'. I still wonder at the connection ... imagination?
Also, while wandering around a park ... in a valley in Segovia ... I felt compelled to climb up a hill and check out a cave that I had noticed. The cave was huge. I walked along inside until it became very dark, with the feeling that I was being invited to walk into the ‘darkness’ … deeper into the bowels of the cave. I lacked the courage to respond to this invitation and started to think about St John of the Cross’s book “The Dark Night of the Soul”. This book describes his soul’s journey, through darkness, to union with God. Since I had just refused to walk into the darkness of the cave I had the feeling my soul wasn’t yet ready for union with God. A bit disappointing. I have since often recalled this experience when 'walking into the unknown' ... which incidentally happens quite often. For me the 'unknown' is the equivalent of the 'dark night' in St John's book.
Finally, again dealing with the notion of 'darkness' or dark night' ... later that day ... sitting in a café eating my supper I heard the word “Canada” on the television. All cafés in Spain have a television. I turned around to watch the television in an attempt to learn why Canada was mentioned … no luck ... couldn't understand the language.
The next morning I saw a newspaper with front page headlines with the word 'Canada' highlighted; the event was the Northeast Blackout of 2003 ... the world's second most widespread blackout in history. The blackout started at the same time that I was in the cave ... afraid to go deeper into the darkness. Yikes!! I can’t believe it; first going around barefeet, than my bizarre experience yesterday with the darkness in the cave; now I’m learning about ‘darkness’ back home … What’s the connection? Really scary stuff!
November 24, 2015
Some people celebrate the Feast of St John of the Cross today; although St John died on December 14th. Seems I am interested in reflecting on my experiences involving St John of the Cross. While memories of the experiences noted above are still very vivid ... other memories involving St John come back to mind today, triggered by reading about his life in Wikipedia.
One of those memories involves my stop in Salamanca ... during my walk from Seville to Santiago Compostella in the summer of 2003. I remember that 2003 was the hottest summer on record in Europe and I was walking alone through what is known as the 'frying pan' of Europe. Seems appropriate when thinking of St John ... he is often associated with 'fire' ... I recall seeing a picture of him standing alone in the midst of enormous flames.
Back to Salamanca ... I was reminded today that St John attended the University of Salamanca for four years and at that time this university was ranked among the best in Europe.
Walking into Salamanca I learned there was a French hostel on St Paul Street and I thought ... how appropriate ... happy to make a connection between St Paul and myself. Arriving at the hostel I learned there was no vacancy ...yikes! ... so much for my happy connection to St Paul. I continued walking aimlessly around Salamanca ... obviously I had no contingency plan,
At some point i looked down a small street on my right and I recognized a sign indicating 'hostel' ... encouraged I looked for the name of the street ... very unusual behavior for me ... I usually could care less about street names. The name of the street was "Jesus Street" . Needless to say this discovery was exciting and scary at the same time.
My stay at the hostel was delightful ... and memorable. The hostess was so kind and generous ... she even offered to do my laundry ... an indescribable luxury for a pilgrim. And to top it off ... her name was Fatima! Of course I made an immediate connection to Our Lady of Fatima.
I want to believe ... whether it's true or not ... that in the above noted experience St John of the Cross was referring me to Jesus ... versus St Paul ... and at the same time reminding me of the Mother of Jesus ... the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The other memory is the time I spent in Andalusia Spain ... having only spent more time in Canada and China. I was reminded today that St John spent many years in Andalusia and in fact died in Andalusia not far from where I was living in Spain, Hmmm! Andalusia literally translates to "Mountain of Light" ... antithetical to "Dark Night". Hmmm!
I also had an experience involving St John of the Cross that seemed up close and personal. It happened in August 2003 ... I had just finished walking the Ruta De La Plata ... my most difficult yet perhaps the most exilarating Camino. I returned to Madrid hoping to catch an early flight to Canada ... two days before my scheduled flight. No luck ... I had to wait the two days and I had no idea what to do in Madrid while waiting for my flight. I found an information kiosk ... for tourists ... and while waiting my turn I was drawn to what the lady ahead of me was doing. Remember all the conversation is in Spanish so I understood very little of what was being discussed. Nonetheless, somehow I managed to learn she was enquiring about Segovia and St John of the Cross. Apparently he spent some time in Segovia and I later learned that his Shrine is also in Segovia.
Turns out Segovia isn't far from Madrid ... I bought a bus ticket and was on my way! I had some difficulty finding the bus station but when I thought I was completely lost I caught sight of the same lady that was at the information kiosk. What luck eh! ... I followed her to the bus.
Segovia is a very intersting and historic Spanish community ... lots to see ... I was particularly fascinated with their Roman aqueduct ... which is still functional and the Segovia Cathedral.
I had just purchased a new pair of shoes in Santiago Compostella ... I was tired of wearing my walking boots. I tried wearing these new shoes for the first time in Segovia ... couldn't keep them on my feet ... decided to spend some time walking around barefoot. I didn't realize the significance of this ... walking around barefoot ... until several years later. I had known for several years that St John of the Cross was associated with the Discalced Carmelites before I learned what the word 'discalced' meant. Several years after this experience ... at mass in Guelph ... the Priest explained the word during his homily ... it means 'barefoot'. I still wonder at the connection ... imagination?
Also, while wandering around a park ... in a valley in Segovia ... I felt compelled to climb up a hill and check out a cave that I had noticed. The cave was huge. I walked along inside until it became very dark, with the feeling that I was being invited to walk into the ‘darkness’ … deeper into the bowels of the cave. I lacked the courage to respond to this invitation and started to think about St John of the Cross’s book “The Dark Night of the Soul”. This book describes his soul’s journey, through darkness, to union with God. Since I had just refused to walk into the darkness of the cave I had the feeling my soul wasn’t yet ready for union with God. A bit disappointing. I have since often recalled this experience when 'walking into the unknown' ... which incidentally happens quite often. For me the 'unknown' is the equivalent of the 'dark night' in St John's book.
Finally, again dealing with the notion of 'darkness' or dark night' ... later that day ... sitting in a café eating my supper I heard the word “Canada” on the television. All cafés in Spain have a television. I turned around to watch the television in an attempt to learn why Canada was mentioned … no luck ... couldn't understand the language.
The next morning I saw a newspaper with front page headlines with the word 'Canada' highlighted; the event was the Northeast Blackout of 2003 ... the world's second most widespread blackout in history. The blackout started at the same time that I was in the cave ... afraid to go deeper into the darkness. Yikes!! I can’t believe it; first going around barefeet, than my bizarre experience yesterday with the darkness in the cave; now I’m learning about ‘darkness’ back home … What’s the connection? Really scary stuff!
November 24, 2015
Some people celebrate the Feast of St John of the Cross today; although St John died on December 14th. Seems I am interested in reflecting on my experiences involving St John of the Cross. While memories of the experiences noted above are still very vivid ... other memories involving St John come back to mind today, triggered by reading about his life in Wikipedia.
One of those memories involves my stop in Salamanca ... during my walk from Seville to Santiago Compostella in the summer of 2003. I remember that 2003 was the hottest summer on record in Europe and I was walking alone through what is known as the 'frying pan' of Europe. Seems appropriate when thinking of St John ... he is often associated with 'fire' ... I recall seeing a picture of him standing alone in the midst of enormous flames.
Back to Salamanca ... I was reminded today that St John attended the University of Salamanca for four years and at that time this university was ranked among the best in Europe.
Walking into Salamanca I learned there was a French hostel on St Paul Street and I thought ... how appropriate ... happy to make a connection between St Paul and myself. Arriving at the hostel I learned there was no vacancy ...yikes! ... so much for my happy connection to St Paul. I continued walking aimlessly around Salamanca ... obviously I had no contingency plan,
At some point i looked down a small street on my right and I recognized a sign indicating 'hostel' ... encouraged I looked for the name of the street ... very unusual behavior for me ... I usually could care less about street names. The name of the street was "Jesus Street" . Needless to say this discovery was exciting and scary at the same time.
My stay at the hostel was delightful ... and memorable. The hostess was so kind and generous ... she even offered to do my laundry ... an indescribable luxury for a pilgrim. And to top it off ... her name was Fatima! Of course I made an immediate connection to Our Lady of Fatima.
I want to believe ... whether it's true or not ... that in the above noted experience St John of the Cross was referring me to Jesus ... versus St Paul ... and at the same time reminding me of the Mother of Jesus ... the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The other memory is the time I spent in Andalusia Spain ... having only spent more time in Canada and China. I was reminded today that St John spent many years in Andalusia and in fact died in Andalusia not far from where I was living in Spain, Hmmm! Andalusia literally translates to "Mountain of Light" ... antithetical to "Dark Night". Hmmm!