Saint John of the Cross

To the men and women he was guiding along a spiritual path Saint John of the Cross occasionally gave apophthegmata (wisdom sayings) for them to ponder prayerfully and make their own. They are designed to catch the reader's attention, and to provoke thought. They take various forms, including plain statement, exclamation, admonition and prayer, and they are usually arresting, sometimes disturbing, and often puzzling or moving too. They demand to be read, like Scripture, in a contemplative way: devoutly, thoughtfully and repeatedly, with a view to discerning God's will.

This edition presents the sayings in Spanish, with an English version designed to assist a meditative reading.

Terence O'Reilly is Professor Emeritus of Spanish at University College Cork and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.