Ascent of Mount Carmel
by Saint John of the Cross
"the greatest of all mystical theologians"
Thus has Thomas Merton described St. John of the Cross, echoing the
considered judgment of most authorities on the spiritual life; and
here in this volume is the great mystic's most widely appealing
work. Ascent of Mount Carmel is an incomparable guide to the
spiritual life -- because its author has lived his own
counsel. Addressed to informed Christians who aspire to grow in
union with God, it examines every category of spiritual experience,
the spurious as well as the authentic. With rare insight into human
psychology it not only tells how to become more closely united with
God, but spells out in vivid detail the pitfalls to avoid. In
his Apostolic Letter proclaiming St. John of the Cross a Doctor of
the Church, Pope Pius XI wrote that he "points out to souls the way
of perfection as though illumined by light from on high, in his
limpidly clear analysis of mystical experience. And although [his
works] deal with difficult and hidden matters, they are
nevertheless replete with such lofty spiritual doctrine and are so
well adapted to the understanding of those who study them that they
can rightly be called a guide and handbook for the man of faith who
proposes to embrace a life of perfection."
This translation by E. Allison Peers was hailed by the London
Times as
"the most faithful that has appeared in any European language."
- HTML version:
- Table of Contents
- Prefatory material
- Book I
- Book II
- Book III
Other version available:
text [922K],
htm [1650K],
@pdf [811k],
@RTF [1322K]
Proceed to the sequel,
Dark Night of the Soul
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