The most important works of St. John of the Cross

Saint John of the Cross was an important religious man who stood out for his literary skills and his spiritual activity, becoming a relevant personality for Spanish literature. For this reason, it is necessary to know which are the most important works of Saint John of the Cross.

Would you like to discover which were the most remarkable writings of St. John of the Cross? Stay and read this post, we show you everything you need to know below!

Literary style of Saint John of the Cross

We must point out that the works of St. John of the Cross were marked by the literary trends of the Renaissance, making use of a simple and clean style. Thus, he frequently uses the lyric and romances.

Similarly, we see that St. John of the Cross focused mainly on poetry, with a predominance of mystical and also amorous literature, although always with a sacred vision.

St. John of the Cross wrote to express his contemplative experience and his spiritual communion.

Dark Night of the Soul

One of the most outstanding works of St. John of the Cross is ‘Dark Night of the Soul’. It was published in 1618 and the main theme of the poem is based on the union of the soul with God.

Throughout the poem he shows us the process of spiritual transformation that takes place when an individual decides to seek his bond with the Lord, narrating the stripping of earthly senses and the solitude that must be experienced in order to obtain communion with God.

To this end, St. John of the Cross symbolises the soul as a woman searching for her beloved, who corresponds to the Almighty.

Spiritual canticle

We cannot speak of the life and work of St. John of the Cross without mentioning ‘Spiritual Canticle’. It has 40 stanzas and was not published until 1618, after his death.

Here we find the story of two lovers who represent the cohesion between the human and the divine, showing the path to follow from the purgative to the unitive way.

Due to the complexity of its content, Saint John of the Cross also provided a series of explanatory annotations for its correct interpretation.

Living flame of love

The poem ‘Flame of living love’ was composed by St. John of the Cross in Granada in 1584 and consists of 4 stanzas. It tries to express fidelity and mystical union with God by using two flames that converge into one as symbolism.

As a result, at the end of his poetry, he shows the attainment of the greatest happiness and joy, due to the attainment of the purest love as a consequence of the experience of spiritual communion.

Ascent of Mount Carmel

Finally, in order to know the most important works of St. John of the Cross, we could not forget to mention ‘Ascent to Mount Carmel’.

This writing shows the path that the soul has to follow in order to meet God, symbolising the spiritual experience. Thus, it has become one of the most relevant mystical works of all times, being a reference of universal spirituality.

Why take our guided tour of Saint John of the Cross?

As you have seen throughout this article on the most important works of Saint John of the Cross, throughout his career he wrote a series of poems and writings of notable transcendence, expressing his spiritual commitment through his verses.

If you would like to learn more about this important personality, book our guided tour about St. John of the Cross on our official website of the Archdiocese of Granada and be surprised by his story and his life!