Carmelite Studies VI: John Of The Cross -- INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION

In 1965, with a shared interest in Carmelite scholarship, a few friars Iof the Washington Province of Discalced Carmelites joined together to found the Institute of Carmelite Stu dies (ICS). Its first steps were modest enough, but aspirations were high. Among other activities, the group met occasionally to encourage each other in their work and share the fruits of their research; some of the results made their way into the pages of the province's quarterly, Spiritual Life.

Events took a new turn in 1973, however, when the Institute sponsored a republication Doubleday & Co.'s 1964 edition of The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, trans lated by Kieran Kavanaugh and Otilio Rodriguez. Suddenly the Institute found itself in creasingly involved in the publications ministry; sales grew, providing resources for each new book that followed, including including now classic translations of the works of Saints Teresa of Avila and Thérèse of Lisieux, the writings of Blesseds Elizabeth of the Trinity and Edith Stein, and this series as well.

Since 1991 marked both the twenty-fifth anniversary of ICS and the world-wide celebra tion of the fourth centenary of the death of St. John of the Cross, the members of the In stitute wanted to honor the occasion with a tribute to the Mystical Doctor with whom our fortunes are so closely tied. During the centenary year, with the organizational help of Fr. Kevin Culligan, O.C.D., various members of ICS offered free public conferences on the life and teachings of John of the Cross, through the local communities of the Washington Province.

These talks met with an enthusiastic response, and have been gathered here to make them available to a wider audience. Other contributions arrived later, and were added to round out this volume. This accounts for the variation in tone from article to article; wherever possible, we have retained the original oral style in which the talks were delivered, while adding appropriate notes for sources.

The essays by Michael Dodd, Daniel Chowning, Kevin Culligan, Denis Read, Regis Jor dan, Emmanuel Sullivan and Steven Payne were part of the original lecture series. ICS members John Sullivan and Kieran Kavanaugh contributed material delivered at other cen tenary celebrations honoring the Mystical Doctor. Finally, we added articles from other authors whose essays, some originally intended for Spiritual Life, seemed especially suited to this volume.

This editor's main regret is that the present volume thus ended up including only male contributors. Certainly this was not by design (except insofar as the ICS members are all Discalced Carmelite friars). Women have been among the most perceptive commentators on John's doctrine, and among his closest friends, beginning with St. Teresa herself down to Bl. Edith Stein and St. Thérèse of Lisieux in modern times; contemporary wo men are writing some of the best articles and books on the Mystical Doctor today, as we hope future volumes from ICS Publications will show. But this volume especially repre sents an opportunity for the Discalced Carmelite friars to express their gratitude to the one we call "our Holy Father," and to explore his timely message, not just for ourselves, but for the whole contemporary church and world.

Yet at the same time, our contributors are well aware of John's words in "Stanzas concer ning an ecstasy experienced in high contemplation":

Este saber no sabiendo

es de tan alto poder,

que los sabios arguyendo

jamás le pueden vencer;

que no llega su saber

a no entender entendiendo,

todo ciencia trascendiendo.

These essays, then, make no claim to fully explain or capture the inexhaustible riches of John's doctrine, or the experience of God he describes. Our hope is, rather, that they may provide readers with some guidance in understanding John, and some nourishment for their own journey into the infinite mystery of the divine.

On a final note, 1990-1991 brought other important changes. Fr. John Sullivan, O.C.D., long-time chair of ICS and editor of this series, was elected first to a position of provincial leadership, and then to the General Definitory of the Discalced Carmelite Order in Rome. I have thus inherited his many editorial responsibilities, just at the moment when ICS Publi cations is expanding its scope. This volume, then, is also special tribute to Fr. John, in the hope that we may continue and even increase (though perhaps with fewer gifts and certain ly with more limited energies!) the great work he has begun.

Steven Payne, O.C.D.

Editor