JOHN OF THE CROSS' THE LIVING FLAME OF LOVE

Author: Elizabeth Ruth Obbard

Those who turn to spiritual classics for guidance and inspiration often find their style daunting. The original texts still have much to offer but their diction and idiom, chosen for another era and audience, pose an obstacle to many contemporary readers. “Classics for Everyone” aims to make some of the greatest Christian works accessible to all by retelling them in modern idiom.

John of the Cross, an acknowledged master of spirituality, wrote The Living Flame not for his fellow Carmelites but for a layperson, a widow whom he had befriended. He reveals that the way of union is open to everyone, an especially powerful insight for a contemporary audience. The Living Flame, short though it is, contains a complete synthesis of his teaching.