John of the Cross--The Spiritual Canticle - Leonard Doohan

This is an introduction to The Spiritual Canticle by John of the Cross. It gives all the necessary background for anyone who wishes to approach this great spiritual work with appropriate preparation in order to reap the benefits of one of the most challenging works in the history of spirituality. The book starts with the life of John of the Cross, showing how he was always a model of love in his own life, and how, guided by his own experience he became a teacher of human and divine love. While the Spiritual Canticle is Johns greatest love poem, there are others and so we examine his work and ministry as a poet of human and divine love. The book provides the needed historical, religious, and personal background to appreciate and locate its content. The book then presents the links between John's Spiritual Canticle and Scripture's love poem, the Song of Songs. A summary of John's own work brings readers in direct contact with the challenges of the message and its application today. With these preparations in mind the book moves on to present the stages of the spiritual life and the importance of the journey of love. The book then focuses on key concepts in the Spiritual Canticle, applying each of them to contemporary situations. Finally it considers the images of God presented in the book and how they relate to the spiritual journey.